


Can't rely on me

by Littleredridinghunter



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alpha Derek, At least in places, BAMF Danny, BAMF Stiles, Danny and Stiles are besties, Derek Hale is Bad at Feelings, Ethan and Aiden are Part of the Pack, Eventual Sterek, F/M, Hell, Hurt Stiles, Jealous Derek, Kidnapped Stiles, M/M, Magical Stiles Stilinski, Oblivious Stiles, Protective Derek, Scott is a Bad Friend, Stiles is Pushed Out of the Pack, Stiles is hot, Stiles-centric, The Pack Being Idiots, Tortured Stiles Stilinski, derek hale is bad with words
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-16
Updated: 2018-02-26
Packaged: 2018-09-24 22:16:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 12
Words: 116,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9789413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Littleredridinghunter/pseuds/Littleredridinghunter
Summary: Set at the end of season 2, Gerard beats Stiles up, but it's a lot worse than anyone knows.The pack let him down, that's not really a surprise lately.When Danny finds Stiles nearly bleeding to death the next day it's the start of a beautiful friendship.Can the pack make amends before it's too late? Will Stiles ever forgive them for not being there for him when he needed them the most?SAME FIC JUST SPLIT INTO SHORTER CHAPTERS!!!





	1. Oh my god

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Español available: [Can't rely on me (Traduccion)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15414882) by [yuki_yuki](https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuki_yuki/pseuds/yuki_yuki)



> Okay I've finally finished it!!! Oh my god I've finished it!!! Literally the longest fic I have ever written and I quite like it. It has it's moments where I tend to go off on a tangent, and I'm not exactly happy with the ending, it feels a bit forced. 
> 
> Also, now we know their names (Oh my god! Seriously 6A was just awesome!) I've written Sheriff Stilinski and Stiles with their real names - although it's always going to be John Stilinski to me - he's now officially called Noah!
> 
> I've left it open because I fully intend to write more in this world, but not just yet, I'm starting on the sequel to 'Let me run away' now!
> 
> I'd love to know what you guys think, I'm a little worried that it just doesn't make sense in places, especially between the chapters, but yeah, just read it like there's no break. Please let me know what you think! :)

Stiles had lost all track of time by now, he knew he couldn’t have been here for more than a few hours, but it felt like much longer than that, his voice was hoarse from screaming, his body hurt everywhere. 

He couldn’t deny that he’d taken a beating, but he couldn’t help the grim satisfaction he felt with the knowledge that he’d not given in, he’d not broken no matter how hard they tried.

“Alright, enough.” Gerard said, looking at his watch and then looking at the four men in the basement. “He’s not going to break.” Stiles managed a small smirk and Gerard punched him in the ribs for it. “Take him and the betas out to the woods. Kill them all. Make sure they are somewhere the Alpha can find them.” Gerard ordered, indicating Erica and Boyd who were both tied up unconscious in the corner of the room, and the men all nodded in acknowledgement. 

“What about him?” George said, motioning to Stiles, “Can I have a bit more fun with him first?” George said, grinning at Stiles who fought back a violent shiver. 

“Do whatever you want to him.” Gerard grinned, obviously seeing the disgust on Stiles’ face, “Just make sure it hurts.” Gerard said before climbing the stairs quickly and exiting the basement.

Stiles’ legs collapsed from under him when George untied the ropes and chains that had held him in place, he cried out in pain as the movement aggravated his injuries, his bare knees colliding hard with the floor. He didn’t know how to get out of this, how to save Erica and Boyd, how to save himself. His wrists were bleeding freely now that the chains were no longer cutting into them and he tried to keep pressure on the worse of the two, worried that he would bleed out before they even got out of the house. His back throbbed with every movement, his ribs were agony with every breath he took, sure that at least a few of them were broken. He was in pain and he was terrified, he couldn’t see any way out of this and he knew that he had more pain ahead of him before they finally let him die.

George wrapped a hand around his still bleeding wrist and then dragged him out of the basement and through the house, exiting into the preserve a few moments later. Erica and Boyd were slung over two of the other hunters’ shoulders, Stiles couldn’t remember their names he just called them idiot, dumb and dumber, Gerard had drugged both Erica and Boyd with wolfsbane and they had showed no sign of movement the entire time that Stiles had been here. He prayed that they were just faking it, prayed that any moment now they would move and then the three of them could try and fight their way out of this. It didn’t happen. 

Instead they continued deeper into the preserve, the ground was littered with sharp twigs and sticks that cut into Stiles’ feet and he stumbled forwards whenever George pushed him. He was freezing and he was sure it was because of shock, it wasn’t exactly a cold night, but wandering around the preserve with multiple injuries and wearing only his boxers was sure to be sending him into some kind of shock. Stiles wondered vaguely how long it would take him to die of exposure if he just ran now, the chances of him getting very far were pretty slim, George would probably shoot him before he got more than a few meters. But, if he was honest with himself, he wasn’t going to run, and not because he couldn’t, not because he was scared to die, but because he wouldn’t run, he wouldn’t leave Boyd and Erica with these monsters, not if there was even the slightest chance that he could distract the hunters long enough for them to survive. 

He could run, but he wouldn’t. They were his pack and he would protect them for as long as he could. Just as he had protected the others earlier by refusing to give Gerard any of the information he wanted, no matter what the cost had been to Stiles, what the cost would still be. 

“Alright, that’s far enough.” George spoke into the silence and Stiles turned around slowly to look at him. He was a tall man, dark hair and bright blue eyes, he looked deranged though, something in his eyes spoke of the madness inside him. Stiles tried not to shiver. 

Boyd and Erica were both dropped carelessly to the floor and Stiles watched for a moment, but neither of them showed any sign of movement. It was up to him, he’d have to distract them, he’d have to do whatever necessary to protect the two of them. 

“Take off your boxers.” George commanded and Stiles looked at him in shock. He knew that this was to be expected, the way that George had been touching him all night left very little room for doubt in Stiles’ mind, but still, the idea that this was what he wanted, it stunned Stiles into silence, his brain shocked and frozen. “I’m not messing around kid, take them off.” George repeated and Stiles could do nothing other than stare at him, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open in shock. 

George seemed to have enough of this after a moment because he took a step forward and went to grab hold of Stiles’ arm. Stiles managed to flail backwards and out of his reach, tripping over a root behind him and falling backwards onto the ground, crying out in pain as he landed on his back and rolling over as quickly as he could to ease the pressure off his back.

He heard the laughter of the hunters behind him and gritted his teeth, he hated the fact he felt so powerless in this moment, that there was nothing he could do to protect himself as he felt George’s weight settle on his lower legs effectively pinning him in place.

Stiles tried to wriggle out of his grip but it was no use, George held him by the shoulders, pushing his face into the ground and laughing as Stiles fought back as much as he could. 

“Come on boy, I’ll go easier on you if you relax a bit.” George said, his fingers brushing the waistband of Stiles’ boxers and Stiles thought he might genuinely throw up as his boxers were pulled down slightly and he felt cold hands on his bum. He was terrified, there was no other way to say it, pure terror that was running rampant through his body, all he could think was that he was going to die tonight, that Erica and Boyd would both die as well because he was too weak to do anything about this. 

“I think you’ll need some lube.” One of the other hunters called out, laughing loudly and Stiles tensed up even more, he couldn’t do this, he couldn’t survive this. He could feel George laughing as well, feel his hands groping at his ass, Stiles was shaking all over, he wasn’t sure if it was shock anymore or just terror. 

“Kill the wolves, I can use their blood.” George taunted and Stiles saw red, something inside him broke and he felt a warmth in his body, spreading and settling in his chest, it felt, oddly, if felt safe. His mind was screaming at him to protect Erica and Boyd, protect them, he had to protect them, had to protect his pack. But he couldn’t do anything, he was pinned underneath George and there was nothing he could do no matter how badly he wanted to. Stiles heard one of the other hunters unsheathe a sword and stroll towards Boyd and Erica who were both still lying motionless on the floor. 

George turned Stiles’ head and then held him tightly in place so that he could see the hunter standing over Boyd. 

“I wonder if he’ll wake up when you cut him in two? Or if he’ll just never feel a thing?” George laughed and Stiles gritted his teeth, he couldn’t let this happen, he had to do something. He tried to wriggle out of George’s grip, tried to do anything, but it was no use, there was nothing he could do. He screamed internally, screaming for someone to help them, to protect them, to please save them. 

He watched as the sword swung downwards a scream of denial torn from his raw throat. 

Except it didn’t connect. 

The hunters were all staring in shock at the faint blue glowing mist that was surrounding both Boyd and Erica and that had stilled the sword in its path. 

“What the fuck is that?” One of the others hunters growled, watching in fascination as the first hunter swung the sword downwards again and once again it was stopped by the glow around them. 

“Keep trying.” George ordered, lifting his weight off Stiles ever so slightly to look at the scene in front of him. The hunters kept hitting at the glowing mist, eventually trying to kick and punch and even shoot through the mist. Stiles felt a little bit nauseous at that, like something was pulling at his gut, an odd tickling sensation that made him feel sick. 

He could see the mist beginning to shift in places and he wasn’t sure how he knew but he knew that it was cracking, that soon it would fall and Boyd and Erica would both die. No! He screamed in his mind, they have to be saved, he had to protect them, he had to do something. 

He felt something building inside him, he wasn’t sure what it was but there was something inside him, something powerful and warm, something that felt safe. Protect them, he whispered to whatever it was, please protect them. 

The feeling of power and warmth spread quickly through his body until he was squeezing his eyes shut and fighting back a scream, his teeth gritted together and his whole body arching in pain, George’s weight leaving him suddenly and he pulled himself to his knees, the heat forming in the pit of his stomach. Then suddenly it was leaving just as quickly, Stiles cracked open his eyes and saw lightning arching around the clearing, multitudes of colours sparking off him and forming a dome around him, the four hunters approaching him with weapons clenched tightly in their hands.

He could see Erica and Boyd just outside of the dome, still lying motionless, he was terrified they were already dead. He screamed then, the lightning overtaking him and he felt completely out of control, he couldn’t do this, he wouldn’t survive this, it hurt. It hurt so much. He couldn’t control this, he wasn’t strong enough. 

The lightning was sparking everywhere, he could hear the hunters screaming from inside the dome, but he couldn’t see them, all he could see were the sparks of lightning hitting the ground, scorching the earth black where they struck it. 

“No!” A voice echoed around the clearing, “No! Please!” one of the hunters was begging, “No! I’m sorry! Please, please stop!” Stiles was screaming in pain over their pleas for mercy, he couldn’t control it, it hurt too much, he wanted it to stop.

“Please.” Another voice screamed, Stiles wasn’t sure who it was, he couldn’t feel anything now beyond the pain and the demand to protect Erica and Boyd, to protect his pack. 

He could hear the hunters screaming, begging, he wanted it to stop, he didn’t know how to make it stop. They started to fall silent one by one and Stiles knew they were dying, knew he was killing them, was murdering them and there was nothing he could do about it, he couldn’t stop it.

Eventually there was only George’s voice left screaming and begging and Stiles couldn’t help the small sense of satisfaction he felt when his voice too fell silent.

A few minutes later the lightning stopped and Stiles was left panting on the floor, the earth black around him and only dust to show the remains of the hunters. 

When he finally managed to catch his breath and look around he was relieved to see that Erica and Boyd both seemed to be completely unharmed. He crawled forwards, his body screaming at him in exhaustion, he needed to rest, he needed to sleep. But he couldn’t, not yet, he needed to keep going, for them, for the pack. 

He felt the warmth in his stomach again and it gave him enough strength to get up, to push forwards. He shook both of them lightly, called out their names, but there was no reply. 

“Come on, Erica, Boyd, wake up.” Stiles urged, shaking them weakly. There was no response. 

He stumbled to his feet, looking around for something, anything he could use. There was nothing, he was in the middle of the woods in his boxers with no weapons and no defence, two unconscious werewolves and surrounded by the ash of the men he murdered. 

“Please,” He sobbed, “Please, help me.” He muttered. There was no-one here to help him, other than the ball of warmth in his stomach. He knew he wouldn’t be any use here, he needed to get help. He needed to get to Derek, to their Alpha, then he could come back and get Erica and Boyd. He glanced back at the two wolves who were still not moving and the faint blue mist that was fading from around them. “Protect them.” He whispered almost silently and was surprised when the mist seemed to strengthen around Erica and Boyd and he felt the warmth pull slightly in their direction.

He wasn’t sure what to feel, whatever this was inside him obviously protected Erica and Boyd, but it had also helped him to murder four men, and okay they weren’t innocent human beings, in fact, they were pretty horrible human beings, but still, he’d murdered them. They’d begged and pleaded and he’d murdered them. He’d tried to stop it, tried to stop the lightning but he couldn’t. He couldn’t control it and he’d murdered them. 

He stumbled away from the clearing, hating the fact that he was leaving the two of them behind but knowing he couldn’t do anything to help them by staying here. His injuries throbbed with every movement and he tried not to sob in pain as he made his way back towards the house. 

He was glad to find the house was empty when he arrived, his clothes still scattered on the table downstairs. He managed to find a damp cloth and wipe off most of his blood, causing some of the wounds to start bleeding again. He sighed heavily, rooting around the basement until he found some bandages and applied them quickly before putting on his clothes as gently as he could.

He raided the kitchen until he found some good painkillers and swallowed a handful not caring that he was probably overdosing. He was a murderer. The words kept echoing in repeat in his mind, he was a murderer, he’d killed them. He left the house, stealing the keys for one of Gerard’s vehicles and driving slowly back into town. 

He ditched it at the school where his jeep was still parked in the car park and slid lovingly into the old seats. He took a deep breath, trying to figure out what his next move was going to be. He leaned over and opened his glovebox, pulling out his phone that he’d stashed there before the game. He winced as he sat back up straight, his back throbbing in agony, his whole body screaming at him to stop, to wait, to rest, to sleep. But he couldn’t do that, not if he wanted to protect Scott, his dad, Derek, the rest of the pack. 

The screen showed over thirty missed calls and texts, some from his dad, some from Scott. His fingers hesitated over the screen, he wasn’t sure he wanted to know what had happened in his absence. He knew Gerard had ordered Jackson to kill himself so that he could evolve into the Alpha kanima. He didn’t know if anyone else knew that information. 

His phone vibrated in his hand again and he looked to see a text from Scott. Not a text asking where he was or what happened to him or anything like that, no, it was a text saying that Jackson was turning into some kind of Alpha kanima and that he needed Stiles to come to an old warehouse where they were all meeting, and possibly bring Lydia because she might be able to save Jackson. 

Stiles stared at his phone in shock for a few minutes, unable to believe that Scott, his Scott, hadn’t even looked for him. He felt tears building behind his eyes and the warmth inside sighed, almost as if giving him a gentle hug, Stiles tried not to freak out over it, whatever it was.

He turned on the ignition, running his hands soothingly over the steering wheel before trying to figure out where the hell Lydia might be. He knew he didn’t have much time, but he didn’t know how he was going to do this, how was he going to find Lydia? He felt a tug in his chest and ran a hand across his chest, wondering what the hell that was, then it pulled at him again and he understood. He wasn’t going to ask how it happened, for once he was just going to go with it without thinking the worst was about to happen. You murdered four men, the voice in his head supplied.

“I protected Erica and Boyd.” Stiles muttered in reply, trying not to worry about the fact he was talking to himself.

He turned the wheel in the same direction as the pull and within a few minutes he found Lydia sat in her car on his street, which surprised him but he decided not to question it. He pulled up behind her and got slowly out of the jeep. Lydia saw him coming and got out of her car, taking in his bruised face with a look of confusion on her face.

“What happened?” She asked, he shrugged, he didn’t want to tell her, didn’t want to tell her that he was a murderer. 

“Come on,” Stiles said, motioning to his jeep, “We’ve got to go.”

“Go where?” Lydia asked but she was already heading around to the passenger side of the vehicle.

“There might be a way to save Jackson, I’ll tell you on the way.” Stiles said, climbing back in and revving the engine before going to the warehouse. He told her, told her everything, about going out to find Laura’s body in the woods, Scott getting bitten, Peter Hale being a psychopath, Derek becoming the Alpha, the others all receiving the bite, Gerard Argent and Allison. He may have missed out all the information relating to tonight, he didn’t need her to know that he was weak, that he’d been kidnapped and then murdered four men to escape, God, he’d killed them, he’d killed them.

“Stiles,” Lydia said sounding concerned, “Are you okay?” 

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine.” He said slowly, nodding in agreement, trying to fake the fact he was fine, hopefully succeeding. Lydia paused for a moment and then nodded and Stiles felt himself relax slightly. 

It didn’t take them long to get to the warehouse, his phone beeping constantly and Lydia reading out the texts to him. He gritted his teeth, knowing that he had no choice but to drive his jeep through the wall and hope for the best. 

He squeezed his eyes shut and floored it, smashing through the wall easily and then slamming to a stop when he felt it connect solidly with something. He opened his eyes and saw the kanima sprawled across the floor, Lydia was already rushing out of the passenger door, running to Jackson, calling his name. 

Stiles could only watch in shock, looking around him at the devastation in the warehouse. Isaac had two knives sticking out of his chest, Peter stood next to him, Scott was clutching onto Allison like his life depended on it, Chris looking at Jackson in astonishment. 

Stiles looked at Jackson who was slowly returning to human form and Lydia was smiling at him with such love in her eyes that Stiles couldn’t help but grimace slightly, once up on a time he had loved Lydia, it was only recently when he’d got to know her a little bit that he realised he didn’t love her the way he thought he had done, that he only loved her as a friend, it was nice to see her happy but he still thought she could do better than Jackson.

He watched in muted horror as Derek and Peter both stabbed Jackson with their claws and then felt the astonishment as Jackson finally became a werewolf just as he had wanted all along. 

He leaned against the jeep afterwards, resting his raw back against the cool metal but not applying any pressure. God, he hurt, he hurt so much and he was so tired. But he couldn’t stop, not yet, not when there were still things he needed to do. He closed his eyes, he could rest, just for a moment he could rest. 

He felt hands grab at the material of his shirt, slam him hard into the jeep and he fought back the urge to cry out in pain. Stiles opened his eyes and saw Derek glaring at him in hatred. 

“I knew I couldn’t trust you.” Derek spat. 

“What?” Stiles said confused.

“I knew it, I always knew it.” Derek raged, and Stiles stood there in silence confused as to what the hell was going on, “I should have known. Scott wasn’t smart enough to come up with that plan on his own, it was you, it must have been you.”

“I don’t know what you’re on about.” Stiles supplied, looking around at the warehouse, nobody else seemed to have noticed their conversation and he wished he could have a little back up to help with the angry Alpha.

“Scott was working with Gerard!” Derek growled, “But you knew that already didn’t you? You were the one who thought up that stupid plan, you are the only one manipulative and deceitful enough to do it, you act like you’re my friend, act like I can trust you and then all along you are plotting this behind my back.”

“Derek, I promise you…” Stiles started, cutting off when Derek slammed him back into the jeep again and Stiles fought back the urge to scream in pain. 

“Don’t lie to me. You planned this, you’ve been working with Gerard, I know it. Don’t lie to me.”

“I’m not lying. Listen to my heartbeat, listen to me, I’m telling you the truth.” Stiles insisted still trying to process the idea that Scott had been working with Gerard, how was that possible? How could Scott have done this? 

“You’re just a very good liar.” Derek snarled, “I don’t trust you. Why would I? You’re not pack, why the hell would I ever trust you?”

“What?” Stiles said, his heart beating rapidly, Derek couldn’t mean that, he couldn’t. Derek stared at him, obviously registering the look of shock on Stiles’ face. 

“Oh come on,” He sneered, “You don’t actually think I’d want someone like you in my pack?” Stiles felt like he’d just been punched in the stomach. “You think I want some pathetic human who’s only use is being a sarcastic little shit? Someone who I can’t rely on? Someone who would betray me the first opportunity he gets?”

“Derek,” Stiles began, “I didn’t…” 

“Save it Stiles. I don’t believe a word you say.” Derek growled walking away from Stiles who was still stood against the jeep in complete and utter shock. 

He was trying to process everything, Scott had been working with Gerard, Gerard and his goons had beaten the living crap out of him, had nearly killed Erica and Boyd, he had somehow managed to save them although he wasn’t sure how he’d done it, or even if he had done it, and he’d murdered four men in the process and after all of that, after everything he’d done for the pack, Derek didn’t want him. He felt like he was falling apart. 

Scott approached him slowly, an arm slung around Allison’s shoulder. 

“Dude,” Scott said, “What happened to your face?” Stiles licked his lips nervously and felt the split in his lip.

“What do you think happened Scott?” He hissed angrily. 

“I don’t know Stiles, you tell me. You disappeared off the lacrosse field, you left without telling anyone where you were going.” Scott said just as Jackson and Lydia appeared.

“Don’t tell me you got spooked and ran Stilinski?” Jackson gloated and Stiles frowned.

“No.” Stiles replied, his whole body was throbbing with pain and he just couldn’t understand this, surely Derek was mistaken. “You were working with Gerard?” Stiles said gazing at Scott, he wanted him to deny him, wanted him to tell him it wasn’t true.

“I had to.” Scott replied, “He was threatening my mum, and he was threatening Allison.”

“Right.” Stiles said slowly, “So that made it okay to do this?” 

“Derek will get over it.” Scott replied, Jackson and Allison nodded in agreement whereas Lydia just looked at him with concern. 

“What about me?” Stiles asked.

“What about you?” Jackson sneered, “Why would he care about you Stilinski? He’s a freaking werewolf. What are you? Nothing. That’s what.” 

“Jackson.” Lydia scolded, “Stiles got me here. If he hadn’t then you’d be dead or worse.” 

“Anyone could have done that.” Isaac piped up from nearby and Scott nodded in agreement. 

“Yeah.” Stiles said, already heading for the driver’s side of the jeep, trying to ignore the voice in his head that was telling him he was a murderer, that he deserved this. “You’re right. Anyone could have done it. It takes someone pretty special to betray our Alpha though. To betray me like that.” Stiles said coldly. 

“I didn’t betray you Stiles.” Scott said. “I came up with the plan all by myself, just because I didn’t tell you doesn’t make it a betrayal.” 

“You knew what Gerard was going to do and you didn’t tell me.” Stiles replied, knowing he needed to leave and soon, he was finding it hard to breathe, he knew he was about to have a panic attack, he needed to get away and calm down by himself. He needed to leave. Scott had chosen Allison over him, Scott had sacrificed him to Gerard in order to save Allison. He couldn’t breathe. 

“I get it.” Scott hissed, “You always think you’ll have a better plan, always come up with something smarter, something that I never could. You think that if you monopolize that then I’ll still need you Stiles, but you’re wrong. I came up with this by myself. I’m so sick of you thinking you always know best. You don’t.”

“I know.” Stiles said sadly, he didn’t know what was best, he’d murdered four men to protect two members of a pack who didn’t even want him. He should have just let them kill him. He wanted to say something, wanted to defend himself, but this was Scott, this was his brother in all but blood, how could he tell him? How could he tell him that he’d murdered four people? Four people that had tortured him for information, four people that had been working for Gerard, when Scott was also working for Gerard. And Scott had known? He handed Stiles over to Gerard in order to spare his mum and Allison? Was that where Stiles’ fitted into his life now? 

He was driving away before he even had time to process the fact that Scott was still talking. He couldn’t deal with this, he couldn’t. He was falling apart and he hurt and he just wanted to rest. He knew he couldn’t though, Erica and Boyd were still out in the woods, hurt and alone, he needed to get to them before he could rest. 

But he needed a plan. He headed back to his house, sighed heavily when he saw his dad’s cruiser on the driveway, he hadn’t even thought about how worried his dad must be. He opened the door slowly, not surprised to see his dad already coming through from the kitchen and staring at him like the sun had just risen.

“Stiles!” He called out in surprise, “Oh thank God!” He said already rushing forward and pulling his son into a hug, Stiles winced as his injuries were touched but he tried not to let it show. “What happened?” His dad asked already pulling away from him and looking at the injuries on his face, “Kid, what happened? Where did you go? Who did this?” 

“I’m okay dad.” Stiles said, he didn’t want to lie his dad, he was fed up with lying to him about every single thing, but he couldn’t tell him, he couldn’t tell him what he’d done, he’d killed them, he’d murdered them, his dad would have no choice but to take him in, he couldn’t put him in that position. 

“You’re not.” His dad replied. “Stiles, please talk to me.” 

“I can’t dad.” Stiles said, feeling on the verge of tears, “I can’t lie to you anymore, I can’t. But I can’t tell you this. I’m sorry.” His dad studied him for a minute, his eyes wide with worry, Stiles could tell his dad was scared for him and it was making him angry to feel so helpless.

“Tell me you’re okay? That it’s not drugs or something?” 

“It’s not drugs.” Stiles replied and his dad relaxed slightly. “I promise dad, if I could tell you this, I would. I promise. But it’s not my secret to tell. I’m just trying to protect you.” 

“Stiles, I’m the adult, I’m supposed to be protecting you. Please, kid, you can trust me, let me protect you.” 

“I do trust you. Dad, I trust you. I love you. I want to tell you, I promise that I would if I could, I want to, I just, I can’t. Please don’t make me.” Stiles said and that seemed to finish it, his dad breaking eye contact and looking more troubled than he had done before. 

“Okay, okay, I won’t ask you anymore details Stiles, but I’m here, if you ever need to talk I’m here, okay?” Stiles nodded, not trusting himself to speak. His dad gripped his face again, studying the cuts and looking at him with worry. 

“I’m okay dad, just some guys on the other team roughed me up a bit. I promise you. I’ll be fine.” 

“You best had be.” His dad said seriously and Stiles nodded before finally heading up the stairs and to his room. He wanted to lie down in bed, wanted to cry and break and fall apart, but he couldn’t, not yet, he had a job to do, he needed to get to Erica and Boyd. 

He pulled out a map of the town, trying to locate where he thought they were in the preserve, he wasn’t sure what he would need to help them get back on their feet, the only thing he could think would be to drive his jeep close enough to them and then haul them into the jeep, he wasn’t sure how he was going to do that, he could probably lift Erica but there was no chance he’d be lifting Boyd, not without help. 

He heard his dad leave the house a few minutes later and he couldn’t help but be a little grateful, he didn’t want to fake that he was okay, he needed all of his energy just to keep going. He started to pack a few things when he felt a weird pulling sensation in his stomach, just like he had earlier when the mist had appeared around Erica and Boyd, he had a moment to worry about what the hell it meant when the sensation got stronger and his knees buckled. 

“Oh God,“ He muttered, he felt dizzy, really dizzy. He felt the weird tugging again and everything started to darken around the edges of his vision. “Help.” He muttered, knowing there was nobody around to hear him. He felt the tugging sensation again and everything faded to black around him.

Erica woke up in the woods with absolutely no idea where she was or how she got there. The last thing she remembered was Gerard injecting her with something, but she was sure it had been daylight then, now it was the middle of the night at least. She looked around her and gasped in shock when she saw Boyd next to her, a faint blue mist surrounding his motionless body.

“Boyd!” She said, shaking him until he began to stir, she watched as his eyes blinked open and the blue mist around him began to fade. 

“Erica?” He said in confusion, “Where are we? What are we doing here?” 

“We’re in the preserve. I think we need to get back to Derek. Check that everyone is okay.” Boyd nodded in agreement and they got slowly to their feet, both of them staring at the circle of blackened earth only a few feet away from them. “What happed do you think?” Erica mumbled but Boyd only shrugged, neither of them could think of an explanation for what had happened here. 

“Do you remember anything?” Boyd asked.

“No, last thing was Gerard injecting me.” 

“Me too.” Boyd said, sniffing discreetly, “Smells weird though.” He said.

“Yeah.” Erica agreed, “Like lightning.” Boyd nodded in agreement. “We should get going, we need to warn Derek if it’s not too late.”

“Okay.” He agreed and they started back towards town.

They had barely run for five minutes when a man stepped in front of them, it was obvious that he was an Alpha, the bright glowing red eyes gave him away. Erica and Boyd slowed to a stop and looked around nervously when several other Alpha’s moved to surround them. Erica noticed that there was a girl struggling against one of the other wolves and she quickly realized that they were planning on doing the same to them. 

Almost immediately after that thought a fist was swung towards her head and she flinched backwards, knowing she wouldn’t avoid it in time and gasping in surprise when the blue mist returned and the Alpha’s fist was pushed away from her. 

“What the hell is that?” One of the Alpha’s said, staring at the mist around both Erica and Boyd and trying to attack them again, the mist still stopped him. 

Boyd swung a massive fist in his direction and they both watched in amazement at the fist connected solidly and the man went down hard.

“Ennis!” The only woman in the group called out, snarling at them as she ran over to Ennis to check he was okay. Erica and Boyd both started to move backwards towards the now gap in the clearing and Boyd reached out and pulled the other beta towards them, she came easily and the other Alpha’s were just staring at them in a mix of amazement and anger. 

They walked backwards for a few minutes until the Alpha’s were out of sight, Erica quickly undoing the ropes of the other beta’s wrists and removing her gag.

“Are you okay?” Erica whispered and the other girl nodded, looking at the mist that still surrounded them. 

“What is this?” She whispered quietly and Erica and Boyd both shrugged. 

“Derek might know, we should get back to him. Check he’s alright.” Erica said and the girl stared at them with wide eyes.

“Derek? Derek Hale? He’s the Alpha?” She asked and Boyd nodded, “I’m, oh god, I never thought, I didn’t know he’d survived.” They looked at her in confusion, “I’m Cora, Cora Hale. Derek’s my brother.” They were stunned into silence.

Boyd glanced nervously at the woods around them. 

“Come on, we should hurry, we don’t know who else is out here.” He said ushering the girls ahead of him and glancing back to where the Alpha’s might be coming from, he didn’t know what this mist was or how long it would last, he did know he didn’t want to be out here when it disappeared. 

They ran quickly through the preserve and were back in town within fifteen minutes, already tracking the scent of their Alpha and finding him at the train station easily. 

“Derek!” Erica called out and she saw Derek glance up at them in surprise and then freeze when he saw Cora. He moved towards them silently, as if in a trance, unable to believe the sight before his eyes. 

“Cora?” He questioned, his voice breaking with emotion and tears spilling from his eyes as she nodded and he pulled her into a tight hug. Peter appeared from the shadows and stared at them in surprise before he too moved towards them and pulled Cora into a hug. “I don’t understand. How are you here? How are you alive?” He asked in confusion.

Derek was in shock, he knew that. His wolf was howling sorrowfully despite the fact that Cora was standing here alive in front of him and he knew it was because of what he’d said to Stiles. The moment he’d met Stiles he knew he was his mate, he smelt a thousand times better than Kate had, he was a million times more irresistible, but Derek couldn’t trust him, he’d trusted Kate and look where that had gotten him, and then, just when he was beginning to think that he could trust Stiles, that Stiles might actually be his true mate, he’d betrayed him, he’d worked with Scott to give Gerard the bite. Then Stiles had waltzed in and saved the day and Derek was so mad at himself for ever trusting Stiles, he’d seen how hurt Stiles looked when Derek said he wasn’t pack and Derek had gone with it, shoved it in Stiles’ face that he was only human that Derek would never want him in the pack. He knew it was harsh but Stiles had betrayed him. He couldn’t let himself fall for it again, he couldn’t let himself believe that Stiles actually cared about him.

So he’d said some horrible things and then run back here to mourn his loss in solitude, except then Peter was there and now Erica and Boyd and, and, Cora, his sister, someone he never thought he’d see again. He wanted to be happy, wanted to be glad to see her, but all his wolf could think about was Stiles, how they’d yelled at him and said horrible things and to go fix it now. He couldn’t. He scowled. Stiles betrayed him. He couldn’t and wouldn’t miss him.

“There was a pack of Alpha’s in the woods.” Erica supplied and Derek blinked, he hadn’t been aware they were talking, his mind still caught up on the fact that Stiles betrayed him and Cora was alive. 

“An Alpha pack?” Peter asked in confusion.

“Yeah. They caught me a few weeks ago when I was coming in this direction, I’d heard rumours that there was a Hale as Alpha and I had to come, I had to know who had survived, I didn’t expect to find both of you.” Cora said, still looking on the verge of tears, “Was there anyone else? Did anyone else survive?” 

“No.” Derek said firmly, he wasn’t about to tell Cora that Laura had survived only to be murdered by Peter, after all the wolf hadn’t been in his right mind, it wasn’t fair to blame him really. Peter looked at him in surprise but then nodded, he could understand what Derek was thinking. 

“I just, I can’t believe this.” Cora muttered and Derek couldn’t help but agree.


	2. Chapter 2

Stiles woke up to the sound of a door slamming shut on the street outside and the sun streaming in through the window. He groaned loudly, his whole body ached and his head felt fuzzy and weak. When he tried to sit up the whole room spun wildly around him and he felt like he was going to be sick, he closed his eyes and the nausea faded slightly. He would have lay back down on the floor but now he had moved he could feel his injuries flaring up and he knew that at least some of them were bleeding again.

He blinked slowly, every movement he made was slow, he managed to get to his feet but it took him a good ten minutes. By the time he’d managed to get to the bathroom he was seeing stars and he had to steady himself against the sink. He glanced up to meet his eyes in the mirror and stared silently. He had a large bruise on his cheek and his lip was split, but those were the minor injuries, those he could deal with. He was so pale that his skin looked almost translucent and he had dark bruises under his eyes. 

He peeled his t-shirt off slowly and gritted his teeth as it pulled against some of his scabbed cuts and they started to bleed again. He knew it was bad, but he hadn’t imagined it would be this bad, his whole torso was covered in bruises, in fact, it was more black than white, well, black and red, there was so much blood, god there was so much blood, lots of little cuts yes, but lots of big ones too, and a huge one just above his right hip that he couldn’t even look at it was such a mess. Surely he shouldn’t have that much blood on the outside of his body. 

He thought he might faint at the sight of it. There were more bruises on his hips disappearing under the waistband of his trousers and he could almost still feel George’s hands on his hips, pinning him down, holding him in place. And then he could hear George’s screams, the sounds he made as he burnt as he died. Stiles couldn’t stop himself from being sick this time. 

He felt worse by the time he had finished, the throwing up had reopened pretty much every injury. He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t think, everything just hurt so much and he needed help. He knew he couldn’t go to the hospital, he couldn’t let anyone see these injuries, they’d ask how he got them, they’d call his dad, he couldn’t go there. He didn’t know what else he could do, where else he could go.

He felt the warmth flare up inside him again, nudging him to head in the direction of the door, he stared in bewilderment at his chest, placing his hand over his heart where he could actually feel the warmth coming from. He buttoned up a clean t-shirt and went outside to his jeep, starting it up and letting the warmth guide him. 

“I’ll have to give you some kind of name.” He muttered to himself, “I can’t just keep calling you warmth.” He paused, he should probably be worried that he was talking to himself, or a part of himself at the very least. He thought for a moment, thinking about what Deaton had said the other month about being a spark, “Spark.” He whispered and the warmth in his chest hummed in agreement. “Okay then spark. Okay.” Stiles said quietly. 

He drove through the town, following his sparks directions. It took him to an old shop on the outskirts of town and he got out of his car slowly, observing the shop in front of him, the paint was peeling in places, the windows dusty and filled with various items. He took a few steps forward, wincing with pain, when the door was flung open and a woman strode out to grip him by the elbow and pull him into the shop. 

“Quick boy, if they see you out on the street you won’t last the day.” She said, pushing him through the store and into a back room. Stiles didn’t even try to fight back, he didn’t have the energy for one and he was probably still in shock. 

The woman was quite a bit older than his dad and she looked like how he always imagined a hippy grandma would look. She was wearing multiple necklaces and floral patterned shirt and skirt, she had an assortment of rings on her fingers and bangles on her wrist, short grey curly hair and a friendly face. She steered him into the back room, separated from the main room by a number of curtains, Stiles could hear a kettle boiling somewhere in the back of the store and crockery being moved. She got him to sit down in one of the chairs. 

“So, you’re a special one aren’t you?” She said and Stiles looked at her in confusion, “Oh, you don’t know do you?” She asked and Stiles shook his head, “You are blinding, I assume that magic I felt last night was you?” Stiles nodded, feeling a little overwhelmed by the woman, “Well, kid, if you want to last through the night I’d strongly suggest turning down the light, otherwise any magic user within twenty miles is going to be able to see you straight away.”

“What? I don’t know…” 

“That warmth.” She said tapping his chest hard and he winced, she studied him for a moment, “That warmth you feel right there, you need to tone it down.”

“My spark?” Stiles asked and she rolled her eyes.

“If that’s what you want to call it, although it’s more like a volcano that a spark.” She turned away from him and started rummaging through the drawers behind her and then letting out a little cry of victory and holding out a long leather band with a metal amulet on the end of it. “Here, put this on.” She said and Stiles looked at it for a minute before sliding it over his head and the amulet resting gently against his chest. “That’s better. I can actually look at you without squinting.” She said and Stiles felt a small smile on his lips. “So, now, let’s have a look at your injuries.” 

“What?” He said, unable to understand how she knew all of this.

“Honestly, you have a spark in your chest and you did something pretty huge in the magical community last night and yet you’re worried about how I can read your mind?”

“Is that what you’re doing? Are you reading my mind?” Stiles asked, half shocked and half in awe. 

“Of course not.” She laughed, “There’s not many people that can do that. I’m just very perceptive. Now, are you going to tell me how you got these?” She said gesturing to his covered chest. Stiles looked at her unsure, he didn’t know if he could trust her, if she could be trusted with the truth. “Look, I know all about werewolves if that’s what you’re worried about, I know that when you’re in a wolf pack you get hurt sometimes, they don’t mean to be so rough but they can’t help it.”

“You know about werewolves?” Stiles said, feeling nauseous with fear, “How?” 

“Of course I do. I know a lot, just like I know you are on the verge of passing out. Alright, fine, don’t tell me how you got them, just take your shirt off and I’ll see what I can do.” She said, already starting to undo his shirt. 

“Wait,” Stiles said panicked, “Just wait, give me a minute, please.” He said and she looked at him with worry before nodding. “I don’t even know your name and you’re wanting me to take my clothes off and tell you everything and I just, I can’t.” He whispered.

“Mina.” The woman replied and he looked at her slowly, “My name is Mina.”

He took a deep breath, “It wasn’t wolves.” He whispered, “It was hunters.” Mina paled and he knew that hadn’t been what she was expecting. 

“That’s what triggered your spark?” She asked in concern and he nodded.

“I think so.” He muttered, “They were going to kill two of the wolves, I was just trying to protect them.” Stiles said, feeling like he was about to break down. 

“That’s okay.” Mina replied, rubbing his hand comfortingly, “Those hunters can be real bastards when they feel like it. I really think I should look at your injuries, please?” She asked and Stiles nodded slowly, unbuttoning his shirt and standing up so she could get a better view. He heard her gasping in shock, trailing her fingers gently over some of the injuries, some of the cuts and burns and red marks left from where they electrocuted him, he tried not to flinch. “You need to go to a hospital.” She said quickly, “I can’t heal these, kid, you need to get proper medical help now.” 

“I can’t.” Stiles said, “My dad can’t find out. It’ll kill him.” 

“Alright.” Mina conceded, “But I can’t do this by myself, I’m going to need help, and no temporary runes are going to fix this, they’re too deep and jagged, I’ll need to tattoo the rune in after we’ve stitched the wounds shut.” Stiles stared at her in shock.

“A tattoo?” Stiles said in surprise.

“That’s what you’re worried about. Kid, you’re about to bleed out in my shop, the only thing keeping you alive right now is that spark of yours.” Mina said hurriedly, moving items off a table and pulling out a number of items that Stiles wasn’t sure he wanted to know what they were. “My grandson is here, he’s going to help me, okay?” Stiles nodded numbly, unable to process what she was saying, his head feeling light and fuzzy again, everything seemed very far away, like he could just close his eyes and go to sleep. “Danny!” He heard Mina shout, Stiles turned to the doorway slowly and saw a young man stood there, someone who looked familiar, someone he should probably recognize.

“Stiles?” The man asked in confusion and Stiles felt his knees beginning to give way. 

“Don’t just stand there.” Mina ordered, “Help me get him to the table.” She said grabbing Stiles and pushing him onto the table. “Don’t you dare go to sleep kid.” Mina was shouting but Stiles felt like it was coming from very far away. He just wanted to sleep, to rest. 

“Stiles!” The man shouted again, Stiles opened his eyes and the guys face was only a few inches from his. “Stiles, can you hear me?” Stiles knew that voice, where did he know him from again? “What happened gran?” The guy was saying and Stiles turned sluggish eyes to look for Mina.

“Hunters.” Mina cursed and Danny was staring at him in shock. “Keep him talking while I start stitching him up.”

“Stiles,” Danny said, running a warm hand across Stiles’ forehead, “Stiles, listen, we need to get you fixed up okay? But you need to stay awake.” 

“Know you?” Stiles slurred and Danny eyes went wide in shock.

“Yes Stiles, yes you know me, we’re in the same classes together, I’m best friends with Jackson.” Danny said, panicking slightly at just how out of it Stiles was. 

“Jackass.” Stiles mumbled and Danny fought back a laugh. Even completely out of it Stiles still knew Jackson. “Danny.” Stiles added as he realized that he did know Danny.

“Yeah, that’s me.” Danny nodded trying not to look at the wounds his gran was stitching shut and knowing that it should probably worry him that Stiles didn’t even seem to feel it. 

“Jackson’s alive.” Stiles said quickly and Danny nodded.

“He text me last night. I know.”

“You know about wolves?” Stiles mumbled and Danny nodded, “How? How long?” Stiles asked.

“Come on,” Danny teased, “McCall can’t keep his trap shut for five minutes, and I can’t have been the only one to notice the changes in him, and Isaac, Erica and Boyd. Not to mention Jackson.”

“Kept telling them to keep it down at school.” 

“Yeah I know.” Danny nodded, watching at Stiles finally started to show reactions to the pain and was gritting his teeth tightly, Danny reached for his hand and held onto it, running a hand through Stiles’ hair soothingly and watching as the wounds were slowly stitched closed one by one. “I’ve seen you, you know?” Stiles looked at him blankly, “I don’t think the wolves noticed, but I’ve seen when you come into school exhausted, when you’re still limping from whatever injury you’ve got the night before. A pack is supposed to look out for each other.” 

“How do you know about pack?” Stiles asked in confusion.

“My gran is a witch Stiles, of course I know about werewolves and pack dynamics. She knew the Hales back before the fire, Talia used to come here when she needed an occasional spell and Deaton wasn’t up to the task.” 

“Deaton’s an idiot.” Stiles said, “So cryptic and mysterious, never giving a straight answer.” 

“That’s what druids are like dear.” Mina added, “Now, turn over, it’s time to do your front.” Stiles looked to be on the verge of tears. “Come on Stiles, I know it hurts but if we don’t get them at least stitched closed the rune won’t do anything.” 

“Okay.” Stiles said, nodding firmly, gritting his teeth and rolling onto his back, letting out a little cry of pain as it jarred his injuries. Danny scowled, how the hell had this happened?

“Where’s Scott?” He asked out of curiosity and Stiles wouldn’t meet his eyes. 

“He was working with Gerard. He forced Derek to give Gerard the bite.” Danny stared at him with wide eyes.

“Where are they now? Why aren’t they here with you?” Danny asked confused.

“Derek told me I wasn’t pack and I think Scott knew about what Gerard was planning to do, he picked to protect Allison over me.” Stiles said, his voice cracking slightly and Danny felt instant overwhelming anger, how dare Scott do this to Stiles! How dare Derek! “It’s not a big deal.” Stiles said, wincing as Mina finished the final stitches, “It’s not.” He insisted, “I never thought I was good enough to be pack, I just, I just wanted to protect my friends.” He said sadly. 

“Well, you did that didn’t you?” Mina advised, “Your magic saved their lives last night.” She said and Stiles nodded. 

“I killed to protect them.” He whispered so quietly that Danny nearly missed what he said, “I murdered four of the hunters to save Erica and Boyd.” 

“How?” Mina asked and Stiles looked to her in confusion, “How did you murder them?” 

“My spark,” Stiles said, “It just flared up, built up, it was overwhelming, I just wanted to protect them but all this lightning appeared and it just kept hitting them over and over, I wanted it to stop, I didn’t want to kill them, but I couldn’t stop it, I couldn’t control it. I murdered them.” He broke down into sobs, wincing as it pulled on his injuries and Mina shushed him soothingly. 

“When a mage first comes into their powers they have no control, not to begin with, you were put in a very stressful, life threatening situation, your spark was bound to protect you.” Mina advised and Danny couldn’t help but look at Stiles in a new light, mages were rare, very rare. “You didn’t want them dead, but they were threatening your friends, and I assume from the state of you, they were threatening you too. Your spark would have reacted to threat and not knowing the power it had it would have lashed out. You couldn’t have controlled what happened. You couldn’t have stopped it.” 

“But I murdered them.” Stiles insisted.

“You didn’t.” Danny advised, “They died while you were trying to protect your friends. That isn’t your fault.” He knew that Stiles didn’t believe him though, he could still see the guilt in his eyes, “It wasn’t your fault Stiles. You did what you had to do to stay alive.” 

“And it would be good if we could keep you that way.” Mina said, wiping off some of the blood from around the wound at his hip and holding up a tattoo gun. “The only way you have any chance of this healing at all and not collapsing from blood loss is to do this, I need to do this as close to the most major injury as possible. You ready?” 

“Not really.” Stiles mumbled, “My dad is going to kill me.” 

“At least you’ll be alive for him to kill.” Mina said and Stiles let out a half laugh half sob.

“Okay then, let’s do this.” He said and Danny wasn’t going to mention that Stiles tightened the grip on his hand just a little bit. 

The tattoo took just over an hour for his gran to complete, it was a two small circles over two wavy lines, Danny thought it looked a little bit like something floating on a river. It was about the size of two of his fingers pressed together and he knew that anyone would be able to see it if Stiles stretched even slightly, but then they’d also be able to see what would no doubt be a pretty awful scar and that would probably raise more questions than the tattoo. 

As soon as it was finished Danny could see the injuries begin to heal and he let out a little sigh of relief, he’d been worried, for a few minutes Stiles had been really out of it, as it was Danny still wasn’t sure if Stiles was going to remember much of what they’d discussed in the past hour. 

“Okay kid, we’re going to get you cleaned up and dressed and then you are going to sleep here for a few hours and then we can see how you feel. Sound good?” Mina asked, although there was no real question in her voice. Stiles just nodded and Danny was a little worried about how quiet he was, it was weird to see Stiles sit in silence. Danny steadied him as they made their way to the small shop bathroom, deciding it would be easier to just put him in the tiny shower than try and wash the blood off with a cloth. 

Stiles managed to stay stood up by himself but he was still very unsteady and Danny had to actually hold him up in the shower to keep him from falling over. Danny was soaked by the time they were done and it became apparent just how much damage Stiles had suffered even though the wounds did look better than they had done earlier, they were still bad, there were still bruises covering most of his torso, Danny could see the finger marks on his hips, he knew what that most likely meant, he didn’t know how to ask Stiles about that, about what else he had suffered through for the pack. Although most of the wounds had been stitched closed there were still a few that were bleeding slightly and Danny couldn’t help but think how much pain Stiles must have been in. 

“How are you feeling?” He asked as he managed to get Stiles out of the shower and a towel wrapped around him. 

“Like crap.” Stiles said, “Feel dizzy.” He added.

“That’s probably blood loss.” Danny said, “We’ll get you dry and some sleep and you’ll probably feel a lot better.” 

“Yeah.” Stiles mumbled. “Yeah that sounds good.” 

“Okay, good, okay, come on then Stiles, let’s get you some clothes.” Danny said, glad when he found his gran had left a small pile of his old clothes outside the door. He managed to get Stiles dressed with a lot of effort, Stiles’ usually uncoordinated limbs didn’t want to work at all but eventually he got him back into the back room and settled as comfortably as possible in one of his grans cushioned chairs. 

Mina appeared with a cup of hot sweet tea and Stiles drank slowly, his eyes growing heavier with every sip. 

“It’s alright, I put a little dose of something in it to help you sleep, don’t worry, you’ll sleep and you’ll feel better. Don’t worry.” Mina said when Stiles began to look panicked. 

Danny watched as Stiles finally drifted off to sleep and then he glanced at his gran with concern in his eyes. 

“What are we going to do?” Danny asked looking at the sleeping Stiles, unable to believe that Scott could have let this happen.

“Let him sleep in peace, there’s a lot he’ll need to do if he wants to keep himself safe and alive.”

“What do you mean?” 

“Well, he’s powerful, very powerful, maybe more so than he knows just yet. That’s going to bring a lot of people, powerful people after him, he’ll need to learn how to control his powers and quickly. Then he might have a chance.”

“What do you mean a chance? This is Stiles!” Danny said outraged, “I mean, I know he’s annoying, but nobody would want to kill him.”

“Tell that to the hunters that did this to him.” Mina said, “Tell that to the druids who’ll want his power for themselves or the wolf packs or vampire clans who will want him to heighten their status, or all the other monsters who’ll just want to kill him so they can have the honour of killing him and the glory that comes with it. Do you understand that? He’s going to be in danger for the rest of his life and he’s going to need to learn how to protect himself and quickly.” 

Danny tried to process her words, tried to imagine all the things out there that would be trying to kill Stiles for the rest of his life, tried to imagine Stiles being that powerful that people would kill him just for the glory of it. 

They let him sleep in peace, both of them knowing that it might be the last he’d get for a while, until it was starting to go dark outside and Mina shook Stiles awake slightly, glad to see that the bruising at least was starting to go down. 

“How are you feeling?” Mina asked and Stiles groaned as he moved.

“Okay, I guess. Better than I expected.” He replied, rubbing at his side where his new tattoo was before catching Danny’s eye and blushing slightly, “Thought I might have made some of that up.” 

“Nope.” Danny said smirking.

“Aww, man, my dad is going to kill me.” Stiles said, lifting his shirt slightly so he could look at the tattoo.”

“So you’ve said.” Mina said. “But, again, you’ll be alive for him to kill, now, how’s your head? How do you feel? Dizzy still?” 

“No. I’m alright.” Stiles insisted. 

“Okay. Well, I’ll let you get home to your dad then, but I want you back here first thing in the morning so that we can start going through how to protect yourself, and, here,” She said handing him another amulet, “Add this to your necklace, and, if you value your life at all, don’t take the blasted thing off until you know how to control your spark, my eyes can’t take it.”

“Why are you helping me?” Stiles said, looking at the small amulet resting in the palm of his hand, “I mean, you’re a witch, aren’t you supposed to be trying to steal my powers or something?” He asked in confusion and Mina laughed.

“Witches can’t steal your powers, it’s a completely different brand of magic, we can’t do anything without incantations, potions or powders. You, well, you are different. You’re a mage and mages don’t need any trinkets to do whatever they want, admittedly the amulets and runes will help, at least to begin with, but you don’t need them. But, that’s not to say that there are other people out there who would be more than willing to steal your powers so you have to be careful.”

“What is a mage exactly? I thought I was human?” Stiles asked curiously. 

“You are human.” Mina insisted, “You’ll find most people have a spark in them, something that won’t amount to much, but maybe things will go their way more often than not, maybe they’ll have a bit more luck than others. A mage is someone who can use that spark, their willpower and belief forces their spark into a flame. You wanted to protect your friends badly enough that you forced your spark into something incredibly rare.” Stiles was staring at her in silence, his mouth hanging wide with shock.

“Okay, I can admit I’m stubborn, but I didn’t think I could do anything, I didn’t believe that anything I could do would make a difference. So why me?” Stiles asked and Mina studied him for a minute. 

“Sometimes it’s not the belief that does it, you don’t need to believe in yourself, although you really should, it’s the belief that something can be done and that if you could you would. It’s why mages are so special, so rare and why people want them so badly. Which is also why you are in great danger until you learn to control your powers.” Mina advised and Danny could practically see Stiles thinking. 

“So how do I protect myself? Protect my dad?” Stiles asked and Danny knew that there was no way Stiles would be going back to sleep now, his mind filled with too many unanswered questions.

“Well, before anything else, you’ll need to draw wards up around the town, anyone with an ounce of magic in their being will have felt your magic last night and they’ll be coming for you. If you surround the town with your wards you should be able to keep most of the less powerful creatures out of the town and also, should anything make it past your wards, you’d feel it and be aware of the danger.” Mina said.

“Okay, so what wards do I draw?” Stiles asked and Danny rolled his eyes, he knew this was going to get complicated.

“Slow down boy, it’s not just drawing the ward, you need to put some of your spark into them, we need to practice, it takes time.”

“But we don’t have time.” Stiles said, “You’ve just said that creatures are probably already on their way here because of me, because of what I did. I need to stop them. I need to protect the town, if I don’t do something people could die. I need to know how to do it and get it done already.” He insisted and Danny knew that Stiles wouldn’t back down over this he looked at his gran who was studying Stiles before eventually sighing and going to one of her drawers and pulling out some paper and pens.

“First off,” Danny said, “The ward should mean something to you, it doesn’t have to be complicated, it just has to be special to you, the more it means to you the better it will work.” Stiles looked at him and then at the paper in front of him.

“You’re a witch too?” He asked and Danny nodded.

“Nothing like as accomplished as my gran of course, but I get by.” Danny said. Stiles looked at him thoughtfully before nodding and then staring at the paper in concentration. 

“Alright, I have something in mind.” Stiles said after a few minutes. 

“Okay, so when you draw it you need to feed your spark into it.” Danny said glancing at Mina who nodded. 

“You need to concentrate on that warmth you feel in your heart, in your chest and you need to push it towards your fingertips and when you draw, imagine the warmth flowing through the pen and into the paper.” Mina added and Stiles scowled in concentration. 

It was silent, which Danny still wasn’t used to, he couldn’t reconcile the silent, injured boy in front of him with the loud, unable to sit still Stiles he knew at school. He watched as Stiles started to draw then a few moments later scrunch up the paper, frown, and try again.

It took eighteen attempts before Stiles finally got it to work and Danny knew Stiles felt when it had worked, the small smile on his face as he drew despite his concentration made it obvious. Stiles held up the finished drawing and Danny grinned, he could see the glow coming from it that indicated Stiles had worked his magic. Then it set on fire.

“I think you might have put too much power behind it.” Mina said gently, “It doesn’t need to be everything you have, it just has to be a part of you, connected to you.” 

Stiles got back to work and it took another eleven attempts before he stopped setting fire to the paper and the ward sat there innocently on the paper.

“Brilliant!” Mina said, “I’m very impressed Stiles.” She said happily.

“So, now I have to draw these around the town?” Stiles asked and Mina and Danny both nodded.

“It can wait until the morning though, I’m sure you’re exhausted.” Mina said quietly, glancing at the still healing cuts and bruises on Stiles’ wrists from where Danny could only assume he’d pulled at chains in an attempt to free himself. 

“I can do it.” Stiles insisted, “I can’t wait. Not if it means putting people’s lives at risk.”

“Fine.” Mina said, knowing that there was no way to convince him otherwise, “But Danny is going to go with you. He can drive, you can draw your wards and then you can go home and go to sleep.”

“How will I know if it works?” Stiles asked.

“It will be obvious, believe me.” Mina said, “Here,” She said throwing an old short knife in his direction, thankfully Danny caught it before Stiles could even try and Danny smirked while Stiles only shrugged, “Use it to carve the wards into whatever necessary. The wider the perimeter the harder it is to maintain, don’t over extend yourself.” Mina advised before they headed out of the shop.

Stiles sat awkwardly in the seat next to Danny, his back still hurting despite the fact it felt a lot better than it had done before. Danny drove them out of town and then onto one of the back roads, glancing at the drawing in Stiles’ hand from time to time. 

“Can I ask what it means to you?” Danny asked finally breaking the silence, which, again, seriously? Stiles was always so loud. He couldn’t deal with this, this was so unlike Stiles. Stiles glanced down at the paper in his hand and blushed slightly, “Oh, well now you’ve got to tell me.” Danny teased and Stiles smirked slightly at Danny’s antics.

“It’s nothing really.” Stiles said and Danny waited before Stiles sighed, “It’s a triskelion. It’s, erm, it’s the sign of the Hale pack. I probably shouldn’t use it. Not really, I mean, I’m not pack anymore, not that I ever was actually. But, erm, well, I don’t know, it’s not just about Alpha, Beta and Omega, it’s the sun, the moon, the truth.”

“You’ve lost me.” Danny said.

“Derek uses the triskelion as the Hale pack’s sign. It’s supposed to represent Alpha, Beta and Omega, it’s supposed to help them to keep control. But it’s more than that to me, it’s the three things that can’t be hidden, the sun, the moon and the truth, and I was just sat there thinking, if I want something to tell me if creatures are in the town then I want something that can never be hidden from me. And if I want something to show the strength then I want the Hale pack sign, so anyone coming here knows that there is a pack in the area and I stand behind them, even if I’m not part of the pack.” Stiles rambled and Danny was glad to see a piece of the normal Stiles coming back, “Although I’m hiding the truth from my dad, it’s all going to come out in the end, I know it will, the truth is never hidden for long. But I’m only doing it to protect him.” 

“He’ll understand, no matter if or when you decide to tell him, he’ll understand. Your dad loves you. That’s obvious for anyone to see.” Danny said, placing a hand gently on his arm and Stiles frowned slightly.

“I don’t think he will though, not when he finds out what I’ve done. I murdered those men.”

“You didn’t murder them.” Danny insisted, “And what would they have done if you hadn’t killed them Stiles? I can see the damage, the injuries, the bruises. I know what they would have done if you hadn’t protected yourself, they would have killed you, but not until they’d taken everything they wanted from you, if they didn’t do that already.” Stiles flinched under his hand and Danny sighed, “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, if you need time to process or whatever, but you should probably talk about it with someone. There’s tests doctors will need to do and things like that.”

“They didn’t.” Stiles said quickly, “I mean, they tried, one in particular tried very hard, there was a lot of bad touching and I knew what was about to happen, I was terrified.” Stiles said, his voice breaking slightly, “But that wasn’t what triggered my power, they wanted to kill Erica and Boyd, use their blood,” Stiles winced as if the thought of it took him right back there and Danny wished Stiles hadn’t had to go through this, “they wanted to use their blood for lube.” Stiles finished and Danny stared at him in shock, “That’s what triggered it I think, I was just trying to protect them.” 

“Stiles, what about you? What about trying to protect yourself?” Danny said outraged.

“I wasn’t thinking about that.” Stiles answered honestly. “Do you think it’s stupid to use the Hale pack sign? Should I use something else instead?” He said, changing the subject quickly, Danny was silent for a minute as he thought about it, on the one hand what Stiles had said about using the sign to stop things from being hidden made sense, but on the other hand, he didn’t want Stiles to use the sign of a pack who had betrayed him, who had left him to be tortured by hunters and then kicked him out. Danny didn’t think they deserved anything from Stiles, he’d given them enough.

“I think you should do what feels right for you. I don’t think you should be putting their sign as your ward, but only because I think they don’t deserve it. But if you feel like it’s right, if it works for you then that’s okay.”

“You think Derek will be pissed if I use it?”

“I don’t really know Derek. Does he get angry easily?”

“At me?” Stiles said, “Pretty much everything I do annoys him, not that that’s anything special, I kind of annoy everyone. But, yeah, he probably has a few anger issues, he slams me into a lot of things, but I’m not sure if that’s a Derek thing or a werewolf thing, I mean, the rest of them are pretty violent too sometimes. Scott’s attacked me a couple of times, Erica hit me with part of my engine, Peter kidnapped me and offered me the bite. Jackson is an asshole, I know he’s your best friend and everything but he’s still an asshole. Isaac has clawed me a few times, Allison has shot at me, admittedly she didn’t know it was me but still, and then Lydia, well, she’s only just joined the pack so she never really had a chance to beat me up, in fact, I think Boyd is the only one who hasn’t tried to at least maim me once or twice.” Danny sat in shock as he tried to process all this, it didn’t sound like Stiles was well treated at all, but then teenage werewolves weren’t the best at controlling their emotions, still, he would have expected better from Derek.

“It’s up to you Stiles, I’ll help you whatever you decide.” Danny said, getting out of the car and moving over towards the preserve.

“Why?” Stiles asked, getting out of the car after him and Danny looked at him in confusion, “I don’t get why you’re helping me? I mean it’s not like we’re friends, I’m pretty sure I annoy you a lot of the time and I don’t understand why you’d want to help me.” 

Danny paused by a tree and passed the knife across to Stiles who looked at the tree in front of him with concentration. 

“Because, Stiles, believe it or not, you are a good guy, and yes you do annoy me sometimes, but you’re funny and you’re smart and you are a laugh. Besides, you have like a boat load of power so I should try and keep on your good side.” He said and Stiles grinned, “Listen, Stiles, all jokes aside, I know we aren’t friends, but I think we could be, and I’d like to try if that’s okay with you?” Stiles looked a little teary eyed but nodded. “Good. Now are we getting on with this or not? The last thing I want to be doing is wandering around the preserve all night.” 

“Okay.” Stiles said, his voice shaking slightly and the knife wobbling in his hand for a moment before he tightened his grip on it, raised it to the trunk and started to carve his wards. Danny watched him work, could feel the gentle push of power that Stiles into it. When Stiles was done Danny looked at it, it wasn’t like the earlier triskelion that Stiles had drawn, instead it was a triquetra. “It still has the three parts.” Stiles said, “But it’s brought together by the circle, I was just thinking, it could mean the same thing, but that the three parts of it are all part of me and the circle is me overall, does that make sense? Like, the sun, the moon and the truth, and each of them is a part of me and I’m the whole?” Stiles gestured to the circle around it, Danny nodded, he understood what Stiles was trying to say, even if he wasn’t putting it in the best way. “I remember reading about it a few years ago, apparently it’s quite powerful in wiccan circles, I don’t know if that’s true.” 

“It is.” Danny said, surprised that Stiles had known what it was and how powerful it was, “It’s very powerful and with you pushing the energy into it, it’s going to be a very powerful ward.” 

They moved further into the preserve and after a few minutes walking they stopped at another tree. This time when Stiles carved his ward into the tree he felt it link up to the other ward and he paused, a slight smile on his lips at the feeling. 

“What?” Danny asked.

“Nothing, just a feeling.” 

“A good one?” 

“I think so.” Stiles said, moving forwards again. It took them until the early hours to complete the circle around the town and they arrived back at Danny’s car. Stiles could feel all the wards link up, could almost see them like a circle in his mind, it was weird, but also kind of cool. 

“What are you smiling about?” Danny asked as they got back into the car, he was exhausted and he was worried about how Stiles was holding up, it was obvious that Stiles was struggling, especially in the last half hour or so. He was glad the job was done, maybe now it meant Stiles would rest. 

“Erm, just I can sort of feel the wards, like, erm, I don’t know how to explain it.” Stiles said and Danny looked at him expectantly, Stiles didn’t know how to explain, didn’t feel like he could explain it, “It’s just, it’s like,” he couldn’t think of a good description and he wanted Danny to know what he meant, and he just kind of pushed without meaning to.

“What the hell!?” Danny exclaimed a moment later, jumping away from him in shock. 

“What?” Stiles asked nervously, worried about what had Danny so spooked.

“Dude, did you do that?” Danny asked and Stiles looked at him even more confused.

“Do what?” 

“I saw the town in my head, like a map and I could see where we’d walked and drawn wards and they felt kind of warm and safe.”

“What?” Stiles said astonished.

“Can you say anything other than what? I think you just shoved that into my brain.” Danny said and Stiles stared at him in surprise. 

“What?” Stiles exclaimed and Danny glared at him, “Sorry, sorry, just, just I’m surprised, that’s all.” 

“Can you do it again?” Danny asked and Stiles shrugged.

“I don’t even know what I did.” 

“Well do it again.” Danny demanded and Stiles frowned in concentration. Stiles thought about pushing the thought again and this time he actually felt the magic leave him slightly and he tried to maintain it. 

“It’s working.” Danny whispered in awe, afraid of breaking the connection and this time it was Stiles’ turn to gasp. “What?” Danny asked.

“I heard your voice in my head, like before you spoke.” Stiles said and Danny gaped at him. Stiles closed his eyes and this time concentrated on Danny.

‘Danny?’ He asked, hearing Danny gasp but the reply came through clear.

‘I heard that.’ Danny’s voice echoed in his mind but his mouth hadn’t opened.

‘Holy shit’ Stiles replied

‘Tell me about it.’ Danny smirked and Stiles full on grinned.

‘This is awesome.’ Stiles said and Danny nodded, starting the car up and heading back towards town. ‘Dude, I’m going to annoy the hell out of you.’ Stiles thought and Danny laughed, both of them too amazed at the situation to do anything other than laugh out loud.

They got back to the shop about ten minutes later and it was obvious now just how exhausted Stiles was. 

“You can’t drive home in this state.” Danny said, before restarting the car and driving towards Stiles’ house.

“What are you doing? I can’t leave my jeep there.” Stiles complained.

“I’ll come pick you up later. But right now you’re too tired to drive and you need to go home and sleep. I’ll text you later on and come get you so we can get your jeep. Okay?”

“Okay.” Stiles said after a minute of silence and Danny nodded, not really surprised to see that Stiles’ eyes were already slipping closed. He woke up when Danny stopped the car outside his house, glad to see that his dad’s car wasn’t there. Stiles stumbled towards the house waving his hand in Danny’s general direction and then disappeared inside the house.

Stiles slept for most of the day, only waking up at the sound of his bedroom door opening.

“Hey kiddo.” He heard his dad’s voice and opened his eyes blearily. 

“Hi dad.” Stiles said, pulling his dad into a tight hug, not willing to admit that he’d dreamt of screaming burning hunters and the pack all lying dead at his feet as he laughed. 

“You okay?” His dad asked, looking at Stiles with worry, his eyes lingering on Stiles’ cheek, “You’re looking better.” Stiles caught sight of his reflection and smiled slightly, the bruise had gone down significantly. 

“I feel okay dad, honest.” Stiles said, stretching slightly and feeling some of the stitches pull tight in his healing injuries.

“So where were you last night? You weren’t home, were you with Scott?” 

“No.” Stiles said honestly, “I was with Danny, he’s a friend from school, we bumped into each other and just got chatting.” Stiles said and his dad smiled faintly at him.

“That’s good to hear. So you spent the night with this boy, when do I get to meet him?” His dad grinned.

“Not like that dad.” Stiles groaned, “Just a friend.” His dad laughed and Stiles threw a pillow at him. “I’m serious. I don’t like him like that and he doesn’t like me like that, we’re just friends.” Stiles insisted, getting to his feet slowly and feeling the stretch of some of the wounds, he managed not to grimace although he could see his dad looking at him with worry. “I’m fine dad, I promise.” Stiles said and his dad looked like he was about to protest when there was a knock at the door downstairs and he gave Stiles one last look over before disappearing out of the room. Stiles sighed heavily and headed towards the bathroom to clean himself up a little bit. 

The hot water felt good beating against his bare skin and washing the remaining blood away, his injuries looked a lot better, the worst was still the one at his hip with the tattoo almost glowing faintly just above it, it still looked pretty fresh. The rest looked to be a few days or even a week old, they’d scar, there was no doubt about that, but at least he was up and moving around and alive. He threw on some jeans and a long sleeve t-shirt, there was no need to worry his dad if he saw any of the healing cuts on his wrists and arms, then he headed downstairs.

Danny was a bit nervous when he pulled up to the house, he wasn’t sure why, probably because he hadn’t been expecting the sheriff’s car to be parked on the driveway, and even though he knew he hadn’t done anything wrong, lying to the sheriff, which he would probably have to do, would make him really uncomfortable. He hoped it was Stiles that would answer the door when he finally knocked on it. He was wrong.

“Danny I presume?” The sheriff said looking at him seriously.

“Yes sir.” Danny responded automatically, feeling more nervous by the second, “I came to pick Stiles up so we could go get his jeep?” 

“He left his jeep somewhere?” The sheriff said in surprise.

“No, well, I mean, technically yes sir, but I made him.” The sheriff raised an eyebrow, waiting for a further explanation, “We’d gone out for a drive, by the time we got back Stiles was exhausted and I didn’t want him driving when he was that tired. I drove him back here and told him I’d come pick him up tonight to get the jeep sir.” Danny said, worried that he was giving the sheriff a really bad impression, he waited in silence until the sheriff swung the door open wider and smiled at him.

“Enough of the sir crap, it’s Noah. Sir makes me feel older than I already am.” Noah said over his shoulder and heading towards the kitchen, “Stiles is in the bathroom, come on, I’ll make you a drink.” Danny stepped into the house timidly and shut the door behind him, following Noah into the kitchen.

“How’s Stiles feeling by the way?” Danny asked, “After the other night?” He added as further explanation.

“You mean with the other team beating him up?” Noah asked and Danny nodded slowly, “Okay, I think, not that I believe for one second that that’s what actually happened.” He fixed Danny with a serious glare and Danny gulped, “But, he’s said he would tell me if he could, I think he’s got this warped sense that whatever it is he’s not telling me is because he’s trying to protect me.” Danny stared at the cup of coffee placed in front of him, “And as much as I hate to think it, I think Scott is mixed up in all of this somehow, am I right about that?” Noah asked and again Danny nodded slowly. “Alright, well, if he isn’t spending time with Scott, if he’s spending it with you, if Stiles is getting out, of whatever it is that they were involved in, if he’s got a chance to get away from it, then I’m going to back him one hundred percent. You understand me Danny?” 

“Yes sir.” Danny said seriously, he could understand how Noah felt, to see Stiles come home with unknown injuries all the time, to sneak out, to lie to him and to feel completely and utterly powerless to help. He’d felt like that with his parents, when they refused to tell him what was going on, when they had left him with his gran and disappeared into the night. He’d gone through it all again with Jackson. He didn’t like lying to people but it wasn’t his place to say anything, this was up to Stiles.

Stiles came down the stairs only a few minutes later while they were making small talk and Danny couldn’t help but grin, Stiles looked a lot better than he had the previous day. 

“Hey.” Stiles said in greeting, heading to the fridge and drinking some milk straight from the carton.

“What have I told you about that?” Noah reprimanded and Stiles grinned.

“Sorry dad.” They all knew it wouldn’t stop him from doing it again in the future. Danny could see the light coming from Stiles’ spark and he knew that their next priority would have to be getting him to control that, otherwise people would be able to tell exactly who he was. 

‘Danny, what’s up dude?’ Stiles’ voice echoed in his head and Danny jumped slightly, Noah looking at him suspiciously.

‘Nothing, just thinking we have a lot to do.’ Danny replied silently.

‘And we’ll get it done, don’t worry, I’ve totally got this.’ Stiles said, his voice didn’t sound as confident in his head as he wanted it to.

“Well, obviously you two have something to talk about in private. I’m heading to bed. Stiles, don’t stay out all night.” Noah said, disappearing off up the stairs and Danny looked at Stiles in confusion. 

“He thinks we’re dating.” Stiles blurted out and Danny nearly spat out his tea, “Don’t worry, I set him straight. But I think he enjoys winding me up, like, come on, seriously? Me and you? Not a chance.” 

“Right.” Danny said at a bit of a loss for words.

“I don’t mean like I wouldn’t.” Stiles rambled nervously feeling like he’d put his foot in it, “Because you know you’re great and stuff, but you know I just don’t…”

“Don’t fancy guys?” Danny supplied.

“No. That’s not why. I’ve had a crush on a guy before, that’s not the issue.” Danny struggled to hide his shock, “It’s just, I don’t see you like that, and you don’t see me like that, right?” 

“Right.” Danny nodded, getting out of his seat and heading towards the door, “Are we going to get your jeep now?” Stiles nodded and hurried after him. “You know you’re going to have to tell me all about who you had a crush on now. I didn’t even know you were gay.”

“I’m not gay. At least I don’t think so.” Stiles said, getting into Danny’s car and sinking slowly into the seat, “I think I’m bi, but you know, since I haven’t really had the chance to try that out with either gender yet I’m not completely sure. And of the two people I’ve had a crush on, neither of them would ever look at me that way.”

“Oh, now you have to tell me.” Danny pleaded ‘Please’ He tried mentally but Stiles didn’t react to it at all, “Did you hear that?” 

“What?” Stiles looked around the car suspiciously.

“I was trying to talk to you, I guess maybe you have to be the one to initiate contact?” Danny suggested and Stiles hummed in thought. 

‘Can you hear me?’ Stiles’ voice came through loud and clear 

‘Yeah’ Danny replied

‘Weird, maybe I do have to be the one to contact you, maybe we should start practising, like see how far we can hear each other from and stuff?’

‘Well you are the powerful mage’ Stiles blushed and Danny laughed out loud, ‘But it can’t hurt to practice, it’s pretty cool even if it is weird, you can’t read like any of my other thoughts can you?’ Stiles grinned.

‘Why what are you thinking about? Something I shouldn’t know?’

‘No. I’m just curious.’ Danny said steadily, or at least he hoped it sounded steady.

‘No. It’s like a phone call, only without the actual talking, I’m not about to see your porn stash unless you shove it in my face, I think. I hope.’

‘Okay, well that’s good, we should probably try with like images and stuff as well, but maybe not when I’m driving.’ 

They continued to talk mentally, occasionally bursting into laughter as they drove, Stiles wondered what it would look like to other people, to see the two of them just suddenly smirk or groan or laugh or grin and never see them speak a word. He figured it would be pretty funny to watch Scott’s reaction and then he remembered that he wasn’t speaking to Scott right now because Scott had let Gerard take Stiles, hadn’t looked for him, had let him be tortured and then told Stiles that he was the one with the problem. Well, Scott was right in that respect, Stiles was the one with the problem, lots of them actually, he had these terrifying powers that he had no idea how to use, apparently there were going to be a lot of people trying to kill him for the rest of his life, and of course, on top of all that, he was a murderer.

‘How do your wards feel?’ Danny’s words broke him out of his own thoughts. 

‘Okay, they feel intact at least.’ Stiles replied.

‘You okay?’

‘Yeah, I was just thinking about Scott.’ Stiles said sadly, ‘I wish he’d come to me, I wish he’d trusted me.’

‘Me too.’ Danny said silently, ‘But his loss. Being a werewolf has gone to his head, I think he’s lost sight of what’s most important.’

‘If you say something like friends or family or love or some shit I’m going to have to tell everyone you’re a soppy beggar.’ Stiles said trying to lighten the mood and Danny grinned.

‘I was going to say lacrosse but I think I like your answer more.’ Danny replied and Stiles let out a loud laugh that made Danny pause, it was good to hear Stiles laugh, it made things seem more normal. “So,” Danny said out loud, “You going to tell me who your crush was?” Stiles blushed, “Or still is maybe?” Stiles blushed brighter and Danny laughed, “Come on, it can’t be that bad.”

“It is.” Stiles grimaced.

“Someone I know?”

“He doesn’t go to school.”

“But that doesn’t mean I don’t know him.” Danny paused for a minute before glancing at Stiles in surprise, “Derek?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Stiles frowned.

“Really? Derek? Dude, you can do so much better.”

“Look, I don’t want to talk about it. It doesn’t matter anyway, whatever hope I had, it’s long gone.” Stiles sounded so sad that Danny didn’t want to push him on it. 

“Well, if it makes you feel better, I’ve been crushing on Isaac for so long it’s not even funny, even before he became a werewolf, he just has the most amazing smile.” Danny said and Stiles looked at him incredulously, Danny cleared his throat when Stiles was still silent, “Okay, so, now you know. Want to keep practising?” He said and Stiles voice drifted back into his head, chatting about absolutely nothing important.

When they got to the shop Mina was already waiting for them and she looked at Stiles appraisingly.

“You’re shining much too brightly, especially with those charms on. We need to get that under control before anything else, that’ll help you to at least blend in.”

“Okay,” Stiles said, dragging out the word, unsure what the hell she was on about. “Just so I’ve got this straight, people with magic can see my spark, correct? So the brighter it shines shows how powerful I am?” Mina nodded, “So if I can control it then I’ll be less of a target?” Mina nodded again, “Alright, so how do I do this?”

“A lot of this is guesswork. I’ve never met a mage before, I don’t know how exactly your powers work.” Mina said, “A lot of it you’ll have to figure out as you go.”

“How do you know I’m a mage then? If you’ve never met one? I could be like a druid or something.” Stiles said.

“No.” Mina replied firmly, “Most druids have a spark yes, that’s why druids can try and take your powers, their powers work in a similar way to yours, but to compare a druid’s spark to your spark, well it’s like comparing an ember to an atomic bomb.”

“Oh.” Stiles said and Danny nodded in agreement. “Okay, well that’s kind of cool. Alright, let’s get started then.” He said.

Stiles was bored out of his mind by lunchtime, Mina had him meditating while her and Danny managed the shop. The one thing Stiles would never be good at was meditating, he couldn’t clear his head, there were always too many thoughts running around for him to just sit still. He just couldn’t do It, there were too many things distracting him, the tinkle of the bell above the door whenever it opened, the murmur of voices in the shop, Danny’s phone vibrating with incoming texts, the kettle boiling in the kitchen. He just couldn’t do it.

He climbed down from the table where he’d been sat and headed into the front of the shop where Mina and Danny were both looking at him. 

“Oh. I see that didn’t work at all.” Mina said sadly, “Okay, so what helps you calm your thoughts, when are you most relaxed?” Stiles leaned against the counter and thought for a few minutes, once upon a time he’d felt relaxed with Derek, he’d known that the older man wouldn’t ever cause him any permanent damage, and had, on a few occasions, actually protected Stiles from harm. But that was all gone now, whatever trust or friendship they’d been building was long gone. Instead Stiles was out of the pack, he couldn’t be trusted, couldn’t be relied upon. 

Derek wasn’t an option. 

“I like to run.” Stiles said, okay, maybe that was a slight lie, he didn’t really like to run, but he was getting better at it, and quite often, the concentration he had to put in to keep from falling over something, well it freed some space in his mind. 

“Hmm,” Mina said thoughtfully, “It’s an option, but you can’t do it yet, not when you’re glowing like that. You’ll be an easy target. You start to glow brighter whenever you are agitated so we need you to keep calm and in control.” She paused for a few minutes, looking around the shop carefully, “How do you feel about another tattoo?” Stiles spluttered and nearly fell over in shock. Danny rolled his eyes in amusement. Mina seemed to fight back a laugh.

“Are you kidding me!? If my dad finds out about this one he’ll kill me. I don’t want to give him a heart attack.” 

“Well, I’m just thinking of a rune I know that helps control, it would help you to gain control over your powers I believe.”

“Why do we have to tattoo it? Can’t it just be like drawn on with a pen?” Stiles argued.

“I guess.” Mina said a moment later, “Although you’ll have to keep renewing it until you have better control, if it were to fade and you can’t control your spark then everyone will know who you are.” 

“Okay, well let’s do it with a pen and just see how I go on?” Stiles said hopefully and Mina nodded, pulling out a pen and starting to pull his shirt up. “What are you…”

“It’s a soul point.” Mina explained, already starting to draw the symbol just below his ribs and a few inches above his existing tattoo, “It will make the rune more effective.” 

“Okay.” Stiles said, telling himself that it was Mina touching him, not Gerard, not George, he was safe. He felt it the second that the rune took effect, sensing the swirling magic inside of him beginning to calm. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly and both Mina and Danny grinned at him. 

“Much better Stiles.” Mina praised and Stiles grinned. “I’ll let you out in the wide world now, at least for a short time. Why don’t you and Danny both go for a run?” Mina said and Danny was nodding behind her while Stiles was just adjusting to the feeling of calm settling in his body.

They jogged out of the shop and through town before they reached the preserve, chatting happily silently about how Stiles felt now and who had been texting Danny, it was Jackson seeing if he was free later to hang out. By the time they got to the preserve they were racing against each other, Stiles might have cheated just slightly by pushing some of his magic to keep his legs moving even when they felt like jelly.

“You’re cheating!” Danny gasped a few miles later, both of their chests heaving as they tried to catch their breath.

“Am not.” Stiles denied, glad that Danny couldn’t hear his heart beat. 

“Are too.” Danny replied childishly, “Not that I mind.” He panted, “It’s good you’re practising, finding out what you can do and everything. But I’m exhausted.” He half laughed and Stiles grinned. 

“Me too.” Danny looked like he was about to pat Stiles on the shoulder and Stiles flinched out of the way, he wasn’t sure why, he just couldn’t help thinking about George, about unwanted hands touching him, groping him. He saw the way that Danny looked at him with sorrow in his eyes and Stiles felt so guilty, he smiled, trying to fake that he was fine, he had to be fine, he could fake it until he made it. 

The next few days passed in a similar fashion, spending his time trying to get a grip on his powers, he was actually considering making the control rune permanent, it seemed to be helping him a lot and he couldn’t help but think it would be better to make it a more permanent thing, even if his dad would kill him when he saw it.


	3. Chapter 3

Stiles spent a lot of time with Danny, apparently Jackson had been asking him to hang out a few times but Danny had always said he had other plans. Stiles had worried a bit about that but Danny had just explained it was nothing Stiles had done, it was what Jackson had done, or not done. As of yet Jackson had not told Danny about being a werewolf, had made no real attempt to see him or talk to him, other than a few texts and Danny just didn’t want to deal with him at the moment. 

Also, not that Danny was going to tell Stiles this when he was still so jumpy, but Danny was pissed at Jackson on Stiles’ behalf. Stiles had reluctantly told him everything that had happened at the warehouse that night, what Derek had said, what Scott, Jackson and even Isaac had said. He always knew that Jackson was horrible to Stiles for crushing on Lydia, but still to hear what Jackson had said, that Stiles had spooked and run at the lacrosse game, when really Gerard had taken him from right under their noses and tortured him for hours, it made Danny see Jackson in a new light, made him see them all in a new light, after all, how could none of them noticed the state Stiles was in? Could they not smell the blood at the very least?

It was almost a week later, Stiles had received a few texts from Scott asking him to come see him, that maybe they needed to talk, Stiles had ignored them. It wasn’t that he didn’t still love and care about Scott, about all of them, but he couldn’t bear to be in the same room as any of them right now. Scott had betrayed him and that hurt, it would take time for him to forgive him, but that was hard too, especially when Scott acted like he hadn’t done anything wrong. 

Stiles slowly started to get a grip on what he could do and how his magic worked. He had started running every day, using the time to calm his mind and using his magic to push his boundaries even further so that soon he was running faster and further than he ever had before. 

He was also discovering that he could do other things, not just push the magic through his body and into his wards but also into the world around him, he started by trying to make a flower bloom and it was slowly starting to grow more powerful from there. Danny and Stiles were practicing communicating mentally over further distances each day and for longer periods of times, it sometimes gave Stiles a headache, especially after an already long day, but he always carried on, the thrill of the fact that they were communicating mentally always outweighing the fact he had a bit of a headache.

There was a couple of times when he felt an odd pull in his stomach, something that he associated with Erica and Boyd, he wanted to check on them, but he knew they were safe and he didn’t want to see them, didn’t want to face the pack, not when he’d murdered four people, they’d be able to tell, they would see it in his eyes. One time he’d passed out with the strength of the pull and had woken to Danny’s worried face staring at him, he brushed it off, insisting that it wasn’t a big deal, Danny didn’t buy it for a second, he knew exactly what had happened.

He was still struggling with what he’d done, he screamed himself awake in the night, the smell of burning flesh fresh in his nostrils, phantom hands still groping at him. His dad burst into his room the first few times, took in the look of terror in Stiles’ eyes, hugged him tight until he stopped crying. Stiles didn’t know how to tell him what had happened but thankfully his dad never asked, he couldn’t handle having to lie to him anymore. 

Danny was really helpful, in fact, Stiles didn’t know what he’d do without him. It was weird, after only really having Scott as a friend for his whole life, and then Scott really not being there for Stiles this past year, to have Danny, who was proving himself to be someone Stiles could really rely on. They chatted about a lot of stuff, not just werewolves and witches and druids and mages, but also their favourite tv shows, music that they liked and disliked, books they enjoyed, stupid jokes and puns. 

Stiles was at the shop with Mina and Danny when he felt one of his wards break, usually they were a warm glow in the back of his mind but now one was stabbing at him, telling him something was wrong. 

‘What’s wrong?’ Danny said mentally, easily picking up on Stiles’ distress, Stiles was trying to keep the communication open between the two of them as often as possible, making it just as easy for Danny to start the conversation as it was for him.

“One of my wards has broken.” Stiles said out loud, including Mina in the conversation. “I should go check on it.” He said quickly, hopping off the counter and heading towards the door. 

“I’ll come with you.” Danny said grabbing his coat from the hook and heading after Stiles. 

“Be careful.” Mina called after them, she was worried, Stiles was still new to all this magic stuff, and yes, the boy was showing himself to be more than capable, but still he was a child and he was new to it. She couldn’t help but be worried, not to mention Danny was out with him. She’d been training Danny for several years now, ever since his tenth birthday, it was small stuff to begin with, small spells that young witches learn, spells that his parents should have been teaching him but they had failed him. Mina hoped that she hadn’t. 

Stiles drove quickly to the edge of the preserve, ditching the jeep at the side of the road and then racing into the darkening preserve, Danny hot on his heels. 

‘Where are we going?’ Danny asked silently. Stiles replied by showing Danny the image he had in his head, the feeling of the ward that had broken only half a mile ahead, it was going dark now, night was closing in around them and Stiles was on edge. ‘Any idea what did it?’ Danny asked and Stiles shook his head, slowing his approach when they both heard movement up ahead.

They glanced at each other nervously, neither of them having any idea what they were walking into and Stiles was a bit worried. Usually he had some kind of wolf backup, someone who could fight, or run, or something. Stiles trusted Danny to have his back, but he hoped that he could protect Danny just as well. 

They looked from behind the trees and saw three men standing just ahead of them in the shadows, their noses in the air as if sniffing the air around them and long sharp fingernails that looked more like claws.

‘Werewolves?’ Danny asked silently.

‘Don’t think so. Too pale, not muscley enough.’ 

‘Not all werewolves are pure muscle.’ Danny snorted.

‘Alright, just the ones in Beacon Hills, who also happen to be like majorly tanned, you think they use a tanning bed?’ Stiles replied and Danny fought back another laugh at the way Stiles’ mind wandered even when they were in a bad situation. 

“Come out little humans.” One of the men shouted and Stiles and Danny both turned their attention to the men, Stiles could feel the magic twitching in his fingers as he stepped into the clearing, “Well, well, well, what do we have here?” The leader of them seemed to taunt.

“What are you doing here?” Stiles said, hoping his voice sounded steady and in control.

“My name is Victor.” The man said.

“What are you doing here Victor?” Stiles repeated.

“Here? Well, we were just out for a wander in the woods little spark.” He said, smirking at Stiles. Danny and Stiles glanced at each other, if they could see Stiles’ spark then they must have some magic in them. 

“You have us at a disadvantage.” Stiles said formally, “You can see I’m a spark, but what are you?” 

Victor smiled wider, his teeth flashing brightly and Stiles fought back a shiver. He had to look in control in front of these people. 

“We are your worst nightmare.” Victor grinned, a second set of sharp teeth descending from both his gums and the men behind him. 

“Vampires.” Stiles said astonished. 

“Vampires.” Victor grinned, advancing towards Stiles and Danny. 

“What are you doing in Beacon Hills?” Stiles said, trying to sound like he was still in control and refusing to back up an inch, he would not let them see how scared he was.

“I’ll tell you, but only because it won’t make any difference, you’ll both be dead shortly, I’m looking for someone a lot more powerful than both of you. Do you happen to know who created the wards around this town?”

“What are you going to do with him?” Danny asked, licking his lips nervously and Victor turned his attention to Danny.

“Oh, so you do know him?” Victor asked quizzically and took a step towards Danny. 

‘Do you have any idea how to kill vampires?’ Danny said silently and Stiles looked to him panicked.

‘I have absolutely no idea.’ Stiles said.

‘Do you have a plan?’

‘I’m working on it.’ Stiles replied thinking rapidly about all the lore he knew on vampires and how much of it he could actually rely on right now.

“What’s your plan here?” Stiles said, trying to attract attention towards himself, “I mean, after you’ve killed us, after you’ve tracked down the guy who drew the wards, I assume you plan to kill him to, but then what are you planning? I mean there’s always a bigger plan isn’t there? Taking over the town? Turning everyone into a vampire? Murdering everyone? I’m just trying to figure out your logic here.” Stiles rambled and Victor snarled at him, Stiles fought back a laugh, it was pretty weak compared to the wolves. “Did you know there’s a wolf pack here already? I mean, just, if it’s your plan to take over the town you’ll have to go through the wolves.”

“The wolves won’t be an issue.” Victor snarled.

“That’s what you think,” Stiles laughed, “I happen to know they cause plenty of problems. I wouldn’t underestimate them. That’s the mistake people always make, the pack is still here, they are not.” Stiles threatened. 

“And yet this pack is not here now, are they?” Victor growled, taking a step back towards Danny and grinning viciously.

“Stay away from him.” Stiles snarled. 

“And what are you going to do about it spark?” The vampire grinned and Stiles scowled. 

“Whatever I have to.” He growled and Victor took another step towards Danny. Stiles felt the magic building in his fingertips, could almost feel the crackle of electricity between his fingers, he focused on the control rune on his side, he didn’t want to start blasting lightning everywhere again, not when Danny was so close. 

Victor and the other two vampires moved so quickly that Stiles didn’t even see the movement, one moment they were a few feet away and the next moment both Stiles and Danny had a strong hand wrapped around their throats, fingernails cutting into their skin and Victor was grinning at them in triumph. 

“Now, you have two choices here,” Victor smiled, “You’re going to die either way, don’t doubt that. But you can either tell us where to find the mage and we’ll make it as merciless as possible or we’ll drag this out for as long as we can and you’ll both die screaming.” Danny looked to Stiles nervously, they needed a plan, Stiles couldn’t let them hurt Danny, couldn’t let Danny die because of his mistake, he’d led them out here, rushing out here without a plan or without back up because Stiles thought he could handle this, that his new found powers would protect them, he’d got them killed. 

“Well, since you seem to know the most spark, how about we start by making a light lunch of your friend over here and then torture you until you tell us the information you have.” Victor said coldly and Stiles was really beginning to panic now, not because he was afraid for his own life, he could handle whatever Victor did to him, he knew he could, but if Danny died, if they killed Danny because of him, god, this was all his fault. 

‘Stiles,’ Danny’s voice echoed in his brain as if from far away and Stiles realized he was on the verge of a panic attack, ‘Calm down.’ Danny ordered and Stiles took a few deep breaths, he looked up and saw Victor’s set of fangs inching closer to Danny’s neck and he gritted his teeth.

‘Protect him’ Stiles ordered his magic and he watched in amazement as a blue mist suddenly surrounded Danny, just as it had with Erica and Boyd, knocking the vampire holding Danny away. Danny fell to the ground when the vampire dropped him but he didn’t look hurt, the blue mist still protecting him, and Stiles relaxed slightly. It was weird to know he’d done it, that he’d actually thought about it and made it happen this time. 

Victor was looking at the mist with amazement, then turned to look at Stiles for a moment before grinning. 

“You’re shining brighter than you were a few minutes ago.” Victor said, squinting slightly and Danny looked at him panicked. “I’m curious how you’re hiding that spark of yours, mage.”

“What do you want?” Stiles repeated and Victor smirked.

“Well, mage, I want you. Or, more appropriately, I want to feed on the power you possess.”

“Yeah, that’s not going to happen.” Stiles said, “I mean, really, not going to happen. So I’ll give you a chance. Leave now and none of you need to die. If you don’t, then you will die.” He said authoritatively, hoping he could bluff them into leaving. Victor smirked and took another step forward.

“I could almost believe you, you could almost convince me. But I can hear your heart racing, I can hear the blood rushing through your veins, you are terrified. You can’t fool me. If it makes you feel any better, we’ll kill your friend afterwards, as soon as the protection comes down.”

Stiles looked across at Danny who was also noticeably squinting at him now and he had a sudden idea, he wasn’t sure if it would work, but it was an idea, one that he had to pray worked. Vampires were supposed to not be able to survive in daylight, these vampires hadn’t disproved that theory. He had to try. 

‘Danny,’ Stiles said, concentrating with everything he had, ‘Close your eyes.’

‘What are you planning?’ Danny replied, looking at Stiles nervously.

‘Just do it!’ Stiles ordered, terror making his whole body shake. 

“Come, mage, don’t be scared, it’ll only hurt for a little while and then it will just be like going to sleep.” Victor cooed, his teeth only inches away from Stiles’ neck, the other vampires hand still wrapped around his neck and he could feel the blood running down his neck from the slight cuts the man’s nails had made. 

“It won’t be like that for you. It’ll be painful and you’ll scream and beg for mercy.” Stiles growled, he needed them to believe he could do this, he had to believe he could do this.

“Stiles!” Danny called out as Victor’s teeth cut into his neck and Stiles focused everything he had on making his spark explode into flame. 

It happened in an instant. One second there were sharp teeth cutting into his flesh and the next there were screams surrounding him coming from the vampires, they had let go of him and were trying to cover their eyes but Stiles could already see them beginning to crumble right in front of him. 

He watched in shock, unable to believe that it had actually worked, the vampires crumbled into ash and he couldn’t help but think of George and the other hunters, they’d died in a similar way, admittedly that had been lightning reducing them to ash, and this had merely been the light from Stiles’ spark.

He wasn’t aware of his knees giving out and hitting the ground. He wasn’t aware of anything, Danny was on his knees in front of Stiles, cupping his cheeks in both of his hand and screaming at him, and Stiles couldn’t breathe, couldn’t do anything. All he could see was George and the other hunters burning, screaming, begging, dying and it was his fault, it was all his fault.

“Stiles!” Danny was screaming, the mist around him having faded as soon as there was no longer any threat. Stiles was barely breathing, his face pale in shock, his eyes focused on something that only he could see. Danny didn’t know what was happening to the boy in front of him but he was terrified. “Stiles! Come on Stiles! Listen to me! Look at me! Stiles it’s okay!” Danny was repeating, not knowing what was wrong with Stiles other than Stiles looked to be in shock. “Come on Stiles. Listen to me, I’m here Stiles, I’m right here. It’s okay, it’s over. You’re safe.” Danny clamped his hand down over the bite in Stiles’ neck that was bleeding, “Stiles! Please!” Danny begged, he wasn’t sure what to do, he needed Stiles to respond, needed to know he was okay, “Stiles! Please! Please! I need you to pull yourself together. Please Stiles! Please. I need you. We need to get out of here.” Danny muttered.

He continued muttering for what felt like hours but was probably only a matter of minutes before life finally started to return to Stiles’ eyes. 

“Danny?” Stiles slurred in confusion and Danny nodded, almost crying in relief. 

“Hey buddy, you doing okay?” 

“They were burning.” Stiles muttered and Danny grimaced, “They were screaming. I killed them, god I killed them.” Stiles sobbed and Danny pulled him into a hug.

“It’s okay Stiles, it’s okay. You’re okay. You’re safe.” 

“Don’t touch me.” Stiles said quickly pushing him away and wiping away at the tears, “Please don’t. I just, I can’t.” Stiles muttered, his mind still fresh with images of George groping him, he couldn’t handle being touched right now. 

“It’s okay.” Danny said, staying close to Stiles but not touching him. “It’s okay. I’m here Stiles. It’s okay.” He kept repeating until Stiles finally stopped shaking. 

“I’m sorry.” Stiles muttered.

“Hey, it’s fine, don’t be sorry. You’ve got nothing to be sorry for. It’s alright Stiles. You did the right thing Stiles. You did what you had to do. You saved me.” Danny said.

“I killed them.” Stiles said.

“You gave them the choice to leave Stiles. You gave them a chance. They were going to kill you Stiles. You didn’t have another choice.” Danny said, trying to reassure him as best he could. “Come on, we need to get you home, we need to get you patched up.” 

Stiles nodded, pushing himself to his feet and taking a moment to steady himself, Danny not far out of reach should he need the help. His neck stung quite a bit and when he touched it his hand came away bloody. 

“Oh.” Stiles said slowly and Danny nodded his head.

“Yeah. Oh. So come on, let’s get you back to the shop and patched up.” Stiles nodded and followed Danny out of the preserve, getting in the passenger side and allowing Danny to drive, not something he let just anyone do.

Stiles was feeling a bit less jumpy by the time they got back to the shop, his legs a bit less shaky and the bleeding already slowing, the wound already healing with the help of the healing rune.

“What happened?” Mina exclaimed as soon as they came through the door and she took in Stiles’ appearance.

“Vampires.” Danny supplied. “We got them though.”

“What!?” Mina shouted, “You took out a vampire!?” 

“Three actually.” Stiles added and Mina looked at him with wide eyes.

“How?” She said, indicating that Stiles sit down so she could examine his injury.

“Erm, well, they could see my spark and I thought I would try blinding them with it.” Stiles said, “Instead they just sort of turned to dust.” He explained lamely and Mina looked at him oddly. 

“Your spark turned them to dust?” 

“Well, looking at it I think. I tried to concentrate on making it as bright as possible, like the sun.” Stiles explained and Mina wiped away the blood at his neck before humming in response.

“It’s already almost healed. You’re lucky you had that healing rune, it could have been a lot worse.” Mina supplied and Stiles nodded.

“I was thinking,” He said, staring at the floor, “Maybe I should make the control rune permanent?” There was silence, “I mean,” He backtracked, “I don’t have to, it’s just, I’ve got better control with that, without it, I can’t control it, not in the same way, and I killed those vampires today, but I could have just as easily killed Danny. I’ll figure it out though, if you think it’s a bad idea I’ll figure it out on my own. I’ll manage without it.”

“No.” Mina said seriously, “Stiles, if you want it then I’m happy to do it for you. It’s just, you’ve been quite insistent that you don’t want it?”

“I know.” He replied, “But, I need that control, I nearly lost it today, I nearly lost control again and last time that happened they died, if I lost control and something happened to Danny, or anyone else, that would be my fault. I need to have control.”

There was silence for a few minutes before Mina let out a heavy sigh and waved him through to the back room. Danny shut up the shop and came through a few minutes after that, by which time Mina already had the tattoo gun out, Stiles was lay on his back on the table, his shirt pulled up to just above his bottom rib and his gran was working on the tattoo already. 

Danny looked at Stiles subtly, observing the injuries he’d suffered that had now scarred. The one at his hip was unlikely to ever fade, it was long and raised and Danny glared at it with hatred, Stiles had nearly died, could have died again tonight and again the pack was nowhere around. They didn’t deserve someone as awesome as Stiles.

Stiles sat up about an hour and a half later, the tattoo now complete, this one a complicated spiral that overlapped in several placed and dipped down towards the other tattoo.

“How does it look?” Stiles said and Danny grinned.

“It makes you look good.” Danny laughed and Stiles blushed slightly. 

“Erm, thanks.” Stiles said, rubbing at the back of his neck and looking at the tattoo. “This was the right idea wasn’t it?” Stiles asked.

“Well, it’s too late to go back now.” Mina said lightly and Stiles laughed. “How do you feel?”

“Good.” Stiles said, moving towards an old plant in the windowsill and Danny watched in amazement as it bloomed back into life.

“I’ve got several rare herbs that need that treatment too.” Mina advised, “Make yourself useful and go grow them too.” Stiles laughed but nodded, heading into the small kitchen where Mina kept her herbs. Danny wandered after him, glad to see that Stiles seemed to be more himself than he had been earlier. 

The next few weeks passed by with various threats, usually one every few days that Stiles rushed off to deal with. None had been as bad as Victor, for which Danny was grateful for, although they’d all died in the end. Stiles tried to reason with them, tried to explain that if they left he wouldn’t come after them. None of them listened. 

Danny hated that Stiles always threw himself into the path of danger to protect Danny or protect the town, but that he never really fought to protect himself. Stiles had had several cuts and scrapes and bruises that could have easily been avoided if he actually bothered to protect himself. 

“Why do you always do this?” Danny said heatedly when he was bandaging a deep cut on Stiles’ leg and hoping that the rune would start healing him already.

“Do what?” Stiles asked, the body of the giant half man, half frog lying at their feet. It wasn’t a pretty sight and his sharp tongue had cut into Stiles’ leg before they’d finally managed to take him out. “Kill them?” Stiles asked, “I don’t mean to.” He said, answering his own question, “I don’t want to. I want them to leave, but they never do. I wish I didn’t have to do this.”

“That’s not what I meant!” Danny shouted and Stiles looked at him shocked, “I don’t care that you kill them. You have to. If you don’t, they kill you, or me, or someone in the town. I understand you have no choice. You’re protecting the town better than anyone else ever has.” He continued shouting, not caring that if anyone was anywhere nearby then they’d hear him clearly. “I want you alive! I want you not to get hurt all the time! It’s like you don’t even value your own life Stiles! How long before one of these monsters takes you down and you don’t get back up? What then!?” Danny shouted, feeling like he was on the verge of tears, “Don’t you care if you get hurt?” He said quietly and Stiles looked up at him guiltily.

“I care.” Stiles replied slowly, “I just,” He seemed to be lost for words, “It’s just…”

“Just what Stiles? Why do you keep letting yourself get hurt?” Danny said softly reaching out to touch Stiles’ arm and stopping when he flinched away from him slightly. 

“I still see them.” Stiles whispered, “When I go to attack I see them, I hear them screaming. I smell them burning.” Danny couldn’t stop the tears, he’d had no idea Stiles was still this messed up about it all, “I murdered them Danny, there’s no other way to say it. I murdered them. I deserve everything that happens to me.”

“No.” Danny said firmly, “You didn’t. You didn’t murder them Stiles. You didn’t. You were trying to protect your friends and they died. That’s it. If I ever hear you say anything like that again I’ll kill you myself, you understand? You didn’t murder them. You protected yourself. You protected your friends.”

“Some friends. Scott handed me over to Gerard and then Derek blamed me for it all.” Stiles said, wiping at his eyes and Danny took the moment to wipe at his as well. 

“Who needs them?” Danny said, “You’ve got me.”

“Yeah.” Stiles said sadly, “You’re awesome.”

“Of course I am. Now, come on, let’s go do something that not’s magic related.” Danny said, thinking that Stiles would feel a lot better if he got out of his own head for a bit.

“What are you thinking?” Stiles asked, wiping at the now small cut on his leg and getting to his feet.

“I think cinema maybe? We’ve got some time to kill before the next big bad right? Let’s just spend some time being kids.” Danny said and Stiles nodded.

Stiles enjoyed the movie, it was great to get away from reality for just a little bit and after that they made time to do normal stuff not just monster hunting. They went to the cinema, went to Stiles’ house and watched films or cooked tea, that was always Stiles’ job because Danny couldn’t cook to save his life, even if he could make amazing potions, or just generally messed about. They went to the school field and practiced lacrosse; Danny was insistent that Stiles could easily make first team this year. Even a couple of the other team members came and played with them which was awesome, they were a bit unsure of Stiles at first, only knowing him as the spaz that tripped over his own feet, but by the end of the first hour they were all laughing and joking with him, Stiles felt better than he had done in weeks. So of course it was all going to go to shit.

It was the middle of the night when Stiles felt his wards break, he sat bolt upright in bed, trying to figure out what the threat was before quickly pulling some clothes on and heading to his jeep. He didn’t want to wake Danny, Stiles knew he was exhausted, they’d had a long day, gone for a very long run this morning, practiced magic for a couple of hours at lunchtime and then gone and played lacrosse with the others for another few hours. Even Stiles’ usually hyperactive brain was tired. So he wasn’t going to wake Danny. He could handle whatever this was by himself he was sure.

He figured out he was wrong about that less than a second after stepping into the clearing. 

There was a man stood there, his eyes pure black, something Stiles had never seen before. He was tall and broad, his whole stance threatening. There was a symbol drawn on the ground next to him, Stiles assumed it was drawn with blood, and considering the body of the young woman with her chest split open next the symbol, there was a high chance he was right.

Stiles felt his heart begin to race, he had no idea what was going on here but he knew it wasn’t good. He instantly really regretted coming out to the preserve by himself at night. 

“You’re the mage I presume?” The man said with disdain, looking Stiles up and down and grinning slightly. Stiles nodded, not sure what else he could do. “Well, I did expect you to try and stop me, I just thought that you’d be a bit more,” He paused, evidently trying to think up the right word, meanwhile Stiles’ mind was racing, what was this guy trying to do?

“I’m new to all this.” Stiles admitted, trying to sound as confident as possible, “So you’ll have to forgive my ignorance, but who are you? Or more accurately, what are you? And what are you doing here?” The man threw back his head and let out a full bodied laugh.

“Oh, this is just too precious.” The man grinned, “Here I am about to raise my legions from hell to destroy this town and you are the one standing in my way?”

“Why do you want to destroy the town?” Stiles asked, trying not to think about what else the man had said.

“Isn’t it obvious? This place is a hellmouth. The moment my legions destroy it and take it over I will have brought hell on earth.”

“Erm, what was your name again? Just so when I tell people I stopped you they’ll know exactly who I stopped.” Stiles said and the man grinned.

“My name, child,” he said condescendingly, “Is Aamon, I am a demon lord, I control forty legions of demons and I answer to no one other than Lucifer himself. And you, puny human, may have magic in your soul but it will not be enough to stop me.” Stiles grimaced, a demon, that was pretty damn scary, but he couldn’t let Aamon do whatever he was planning to do, he couldn’t let him destroy this town, his town.

“Maybe not.” Stiles said, feeling the magic building in his fingertips, “But I’m still going to try.” 

Aamon laughed loudly, raising his arms above his head and Stiles saw the earth under the symbol begin to crack and fall away, black mist rising from the hole and beginning to move towards the town. Stiles grabbed hold of his power and thrust it outwards, throwing up a dome that stopped the mist from moving any closer to the town, then, with no idea what else to do, he ran straight at Aamon and tackled him to the ground.

He put every bit of power that wasn’t already being used to form the dome behind the punches he threw and it managed to keep Aamon on the ground. He climbed up quickly and studied the hole in the ground, he didn’t know how to stop it, it only seemed to be getting bigger and the mist was getting thicker and Stiles could feel it thudding against his protective dome, desperate to get out. Aamon was on his feet again, swiping at black blood that trickled from his nose and glaring at Stiles. 

“It’s no use boy, your town is doomed.” Aamon threatened, stepping forward and swinging a large fist towards Stiles, suddenly they were fighting around the edge of the hole and Stiles knew how this was going to end, how it had to end. He managed to avoid another fist, the ground collapsing underneath him and only just moving out of the way in time to avoid falling into the hole. He grabbed onto Aamon’s arms, holding him as tightly as he could and shoving him towards the hole. Aamon had a look of genuine terror in his eyes and Stiles knew then that he was doing the right thing. 

He pushed him backwards another few inches and then Aamon was falling. He grabbed onto Stiles’ ankle as he fell and Stiles was pulled into the hole as well. He managed to grab onto the edge of the hole but it was crumbling quickly and Aamon was still clinging tightly to his ankle. He couldn’t see the bottom of the hole, he was scared. 

‘Danny.’ He called mentally and he felt it when Danny woke up, confused as to why Stiles was calling him, ‘Danny.’ He said again and Danny was suddenly very awake.

‘Stiles, what’s wrong? Where are you?’

‘I’m in the preserve.’ Stiles said, crying out a little in fear when the ground moved again, ‘I don’t have much time.’

‘What?’ Danny said, Stiles could imagine him throwing clothes on, rushing out of the door, coming to help Stiles. 

‘Tell my dad I love him, please?’ Stiles asked, the ground gave a little bit more. 

‘Stiles, what’s going on, tell me. Please.’ Danny begged.

‘Demon in the woods. I’ve managed to stop him I think.’

‘Okay that’s good, just tell me where you are Stiles.’ 

‘There’s no time Danny. I’m going to fall.’ Stiles said, he was clinging on by his fingertips now, he was almost out of time, ‘Just please, please tell my dad how much I love him.’

‘No.’ Danny shouted, ‘No, there’s time Stiles, there’s still time. Just tell me where you are.’ Stiles felt his grip slip slightly and that was the final straw, the chunk of earth he’d been clinging to came apart and he fell. 

He could hear Aamon screaming below him, he watched as the black mist started to withdraw back into the hole and then it started to close up. 

‘I’m sorry.’ Stiles whispered. He could hear Danny screaming, could hear him begging him to stop messing around. To just tell him where he was and he’d come get him. Then his voice started to fade and the sound of a thousand other screams filled his ears. 

Stiles hit the ground hard what felt like hours later.

Danny drove around the town uselessly until finally he found Stiles’ jeep parked at the side of the road. He raced out into the preserve, calling for Stiles, feeling that the connection was still there but that Stiles wasn’t answering him. 

He stumbled around for what felt like ages before finally coming across a body of a dead girl and what looked like a symbol drawn out of her blood. He called out again for Stiles desperately but still there was no reply. He took a picture of the symbol quickly, sure he had seen it somewhere before, and headed back to his car, he had to figure out what had happened, he had to find Stiles.

He kept calling out to Stiles but their connection didn’t seem to be working properly, all he knew for definite was that Stiles was still alive and he was scared and in pain, he had to find a way to save him. 

Noah turned up at his house the next afternoon, stating that Stiles was missing and did Danny know where he was. Danny didn’t know what to say, instead he just burst into tears which Noah obviously hadn’t expected. He brokenly told Noah about everything that had happened, about the werewolves, the hunters, Gerard, George, how Stiles came into his powers, how they’d been spending the summer trying to protect the town and how Stiles had been attacked by a demon and he’d fallen, insisting the entire time that Danny tell his dad he loved him.

Noah had spent ten minutes looking at him like he’d lost his mind before Danny did a few simple spells to show him his magic. After which Danny had to spend half an hour calming Noah down, getting his breathing back under control and trying to stop him from having a heart attack.

“So werewolves, witches, magic, demons, all of that is real?” Noah said in shock and Danny nodded. “And hunters are the ones who attacked Stiles, who beat him up?”

“Yes, they tortured him for information on the pack.” Danny said, trying not to wince when he felt a sharp stab of pain come from Stiles.

“That’s why he didn’t tell me any of this? To protect the pack?” 

“Yes. And well, also, after everything that happened with the hunters, he didn’t know how, he couldn’t tell you. I kept telling him it was self-defence but he still blames himself, he says he murdered them.”

“It doesn’t sound like that to me. It sounds like they nearly raped and killed my son. It’s good they are dead, otherwise I’d kill them myself.” Noah fumed, “What about Stiles? Can you still feel him? Could we get the pack to track him by scent maybe?” 

“I don’t think that’s going to work.” Danny said, he would involve the pack if he thought they could help, god only knew they owed Stiles that much, but he knew they wouldn’t be able to help. He didn’t want to tell Noah what he’d discovered, it wasn’t good news.

“What is it Danny? Just tell me, please.” Noah pleaded and Danny sighed heavily.

“From what we can tell, my gran and I, the spell the demon created, it opened a portal to hell, when Stiles fell…”

“He fell into hell.” Noah finished, his eyes going wide at the realization and Danny nodded. “How do we get him out?” Noah demanded and Danny paused.

“I’m working on a spell, it’ll take time,”

“How long?”

“A week at most, if you can help me.” Danny said, he hadn’t told his gran about this, she would know how dangerous it was, she would tell him not to do it, that what they brought back might not be Stiles, that if he lost himself down there, the only thing they’d be bringing back would be a demon. Danny prayed that Stiles could hold on that long.

“How?” Noah asked.

“I’ll need some of your blood for one, and two, I’ll need to work in that area of the preserve, which means keeping the police away from it.”

“But there’s a dead body there. We need to identify the girl.”

“I know. But the best chance of getting Stiles back is to cast the spell where he fell, I mean, it’s not like people do this all the time, there’s only mentions of it happening once before and the results weren’t brilliant.”

“Can you do this?” Noah asked, looking at Danny with worry in his eyes.

“I’m going to try.” Danny said firmly, “I can’t guarantee it’s going to work Sheriff, but believe me, I will do everything I can to get him back to you.”

“That’s what I’m worried about.” Noah said, looking at Danny softly, “Stiles wouldn’t want you to get hurt trying to save him. And I want him back, god I want him back, but he wouldn’t want you to get hurt. You understand?”

“I’m not leaving him there.” Danny snapped, “I can feel him, he’s in pain and he’s scared and that’s not going to go away until he’s dead or he’s back. I’m not leaving him there.” Danny repeated it and Noah nodded, hating the idea of Stiles being scared and he was useless to do anything.

“Okay. Okay. Whatever you need I’ll do it.” Noah said, praying that this would work.

The next week was the longest of their lives. Danny could feel Stiles still, that was probably the only consolation they had, that they knew he was still alive, that he was still holding on. The spell was slow going, he had to sit and let ingredients stew for hours on end and it annoyed the hell out of him, he felt powerless and Stiles needed him. 

Noah spent every minute he wasn’t at the station with Danny, running through how the spell was supposed to work, what Noah would need to do, which was effectively call Stiles’ name while Danny chanted the spell, the idea was that by using Noah’s blood, the closest they had to Stiles’ blood, it would pull him back, and hopefully, by hearing his father’s voice calling his name it would make the pull much stronger. So they hoped.

Some of the guys they’d been playing lacrosse with had called him and asked when they were both coming to play again, Danny wished Stiles could know about that, about how these guys that he’d hardly known before wanted to know where he was. He would tell him about that when they got Stiles back. 

The night eventually came when they could finally cast the spell and Danny and Noah both walked through the preserve quietly.

“So your gran doesn’t know about any of this?” Noah asked when they finally got to the clearing and Danny started to unpack the ingredients.

“No.” Danny replied, “It’s risky. She’d tell me it was too dangerous, but she can’t feel Stiles like I can, I can’t leave him there.”

“How is he?” Noah asked, the same question he must have already asked a thousand times today.

“He’s holding in there.” Danny replied, he settled onto the floor near the symbol, already mixing the potions he’d spent the week preparing into a large bowl. “Alright, no time like the present. Let’s do this.” He patted the ground next to him and Noah sat down next to him.

Danny pulled out a knife and sliced quickly across Noah’s palm, the sheriff letting out a little hiss of pain before dripping the blood into Danny’s potion and they both watched as it turned bright red.

“That’s good.” Danny reassured him. “Alright, ready?” Noah nodded, “Okay.” Danny picked up the bowl and started to pour the contents over the symbol, both of them watching as it started to glow bright red. “Still normal.” Danny began to chant quietly, and they watched in amazement as the ground opened up and a bottomless hole appeared. Danny nodded signalling Noah to start calling for Stiles.

“Mieczyslaw.” Noah called, feeling a bit silly but willing to do anything to get Stiles back, “Stiles, please, listen to me, hear me, please. Mieczyslaw, come back to us.” Danny’s chanting was getting louder and Noah hoped that this meant it was working. 

Stiles had woken up in hell, literal hell. There were black eyed people screaming all around him and everywhere was covered in red and it stank of rotting flesh, it was like a warzone. Stiles fought back the urge to throw up and managed to get unsteadily to his feet. Almost as soon as he was on his feet there was a man running at him, screaming a war cry and waving a sword. Stiles wasn’t an idiot. He ran.

He ran until he couldn’t anymore, there was nowhere to hide, nowhere was safe, everyone was waging war around him. Eventually he knew he had no choice but to turn and fight. He reached for his magic but he couldn’t feel it anymore, it was gone, he tried not to panic, he had no weapon and no idea how to fight.

There were hundreds and thousands of people around him, fighting as if their lives depended on it, but no matter what injuries were inflicted the fight continued. Stiles grabbed a sword from the ground and picked it up, it felt like it weighed a tonne. He barely managed to block the blow from a swinging sword and after another few hits he felt it slice deeply into his thigh. He let out a cry of pain, it hurt so much, but there was no rest, he couldn’t stop. 

He must have died a thousand times, he was sure of that, but this was hell and there was no permanent death here. Whenever he did die he just woke up again a few minutes later and it began all over again. Instead it was an eternal war, one that would never end, that gave its demon soldiers no rest or peace, where there was no day or night, no need to sleep or eat, just endless, pointless war. 

He’d met George after what he thought were the first few days, George was screaming at him, attacking him, killing him over and over.

“It’s your fault I’m here. You murdered me. You damned me to hell.” George screamed repeatedly, his black eyes flashing back to human at the most random moments, and Stiles couldn’t help but agree, this was his fault, all his fault. Sometimes he actually let George win, after all, if he hadn’t have killed him then he wouldn’t be here. It was only after the sixteenth time he died at George’s hands that he got to his feet and glared at George.

“It’s not my fault you’re here.” Stiles said, willing himself to believe it, “You would have ended up here one way or another, you just got here a lot sooner than planned because of me.” He glared and George roared in rage before attacking him again. 

They fought for what felt like days before finally Stiles managed to land a killing blow. As soon as George hit the ground he was moving away, fighting through the men and women surrounding him in order to put some distance between them.

The first few months of fighting he lost more than he won, but slowly and surely he started to learn how to use whatever weapon he could get his hands on, and if he had no weapon then he’d use his bare hands instead.

He estimated that he must have been there for about nine months when he stumbled upon the dragon. It was black as night and the size of a house with the most intelligent and pain filled green eyes Stiles had seen in what felt like forever, it was the first time he hadn’t been surrounded by black eyed demons in so long that he thought he could get lost in those green eyes. They reminded Stiles of Derek for some reason and Stiles felt instantly attached to it. 

The dragon was chained in place and hundreds of demons were stabbing at it with swords. Stiles screamed in rage, unable to believe what he was seeing, rushing forward and fighting his way through the soldiers, cutting them down until everyone started to turn their attention towards him. He fought until he lost all track of time, killing anyone who tried to get to the dragon behind him, admittedly it only lasted for a few minutes and then they were back up and fighting again but he wouldn’t give up. He tried breaking the chains holding the dragon in place over and over but every time he managed to do it a moment later they had reformed.

Stiles died a few times too, whenever he woke up the others were back to attacking the dragon again and Stiles had to start all over again from scratch. Sometimes the dragon seemed to be studying Stiles, watching his movements, sometimes it managed to swing its tail and knock away a few of the demons, Stiles appreciated that. Eventually he gave the dragon a name, mainly because he had to keep himself sane somehow, he decided on Brimmy, like fire and brimstone, and it made him smile every time he thought it or said it, especially when he said it out loud and he could have sworn Brimmy actually smiled at him, well, as well as a dragon could. His back sometimes brushed against Brimmy’s scales when he was fighting and he took comfort in knowing the dragon was behind him. He was sure that Brimmy was the only thing keeping him half way sane, this was what he was made for, to protect those he could. When he fought to protect Brimmy he thought of all the times he’d fought to protect the pack, to protect the town, to protect his dad or Danny or just some random person. This was who he was and he would fight until he had nothing left to protect Brimmy. 

There was no rest, no sleep, no peace. Time had become meaningless to him now. All he knew was war and death.

“Mieczyslaw.” He heard it clearly, felt a pull in his stomach, that was his father’s voice, he hadn’t heard it in so long but there was no doubt in his mind that the voice was his fathers. “Stiles, please, listen to me, hear me, please.” Stiles knew that voice, every part of him was throbbing with an energy he didn’t know he had, he needed to follow that voice, but he couldn’t leave Brimmy. 

He swung the sword with renewed strength, using the energy he felt running through his body to break the chains and keep them broken. 

“Come on Brimmy, you’re staying with me.” Stiles said. He fought back another wave of demons and broke the final chain. Brimmy let out a ferocious roar and reared up on his hind legs, enormous wings unfolding and Stiles stared in wonderment, Brimmy, which he’d always known to be black in colour, was moving and there was a shimmering blue with hints of green that were shining out from under the black now. 

Brimmy roared again and it would have been terrifying but Stiles had long since lost the ability to be terrified, especially of the only thing that offered him comfort in this nightmare. 

“Stiles, please.” His dad’s voice echoed to him again and the pull Stiles felt became even stronger. He gripped tight to Brimmy’s front leg and concentrated solely on the pull he felt and the feel of Brimmy’s scales under his fingertips. 

The next thing he felt was wind on his face and the sheer relief of it nearly brought him to his knees. He never thought he’d feel the wind again. 

“Stiles?” His dad’s voice was nearby and he opened his eyes slowly and looked around him, he was in a clearing in the preserve. He looked around, glad when he felt Brimmy behind him, now only the size of a small cat, he let out a small sound of surprise, he had expected Brimmy to be bigger in the real world. “Erm, Stiles, what is that?” His dad asked, and Stiles couldn’t look up, couldn’t see him, couldn’t believe that this was real, that he was out, that it was over. “Stiles,” His dad came closer and Brimmy grew quickly to the size of a lion, growling at Noah, Stiles couldn’t hide his surprise this time, Brimmy was acting like a cat more than a ferocious monster.

“It’s okay Brimmy, he’s a friend.” Stiles said, his voice cracking, but Noah glanced at him once before shrinking back down to cat size, Stiles watched him in amazement, he felt a small stinging in his side and he glanced down to see a new tattoo branding his skin, a dragon that curled around his side and up towards his heart.

“Is that a dragon?” Danny asked in surprise. Stiles wasn’t sure if he meant Brimmy or the tattoo, he looked up from where he was scratching behind Brimmy’s ears and met his dads’ eyes. Danny and Noah had both been shocked into silence when Stiles had appeared out of thin air and the hole had sealed itself a second later. Danny almost didn’t recognize him, the clothes he was wearing were in tatters, clearly showing defined muscles in his arms and chest that he hadn’t had before, he was covered in blood although he didn’t seem to have any major injuries, he was holding a sword in one hand and what looked like some kind of sharpened bat in the other, there were smaller knives stuck into the band of his trousers, two more strapped to his wrists and the way Stiles was stood made Danny nervous. 

Stiles had always been kind of clumsy, tripping over his own feet, but there was none of that now. He was stood tall, confident, eyes already assessing everything within the clearing for potential threats, he looked in control and dangerous. 

“You haven’t aged.” Stiles said a minute later, his voice cracking again, he was trying to figure out if this was real, he wanted so badly for it to be real, he wanted to be home. 

“Why would we have?” His dad asked, taking another step towards Stiles who tensed slightly and Noah stopped where he was, “Stiles?” Noah asked and Stiles glanced at Brimmy who was rubbing his head against Stiles’ trouser leg. 

“How long have I been gone?” Stiles asked, that was the only explanation he could come up with, that time was different here somehow. 

“Stiles?” Danny said cautiously, “How long do you think you’ve been gone?” Stiles shrugged, he really wasn’t sure.

“I don’t know. I lost track, maybe six years? Maybe a bit more?” He said honestly, Noah looked horrified and Danny was just staring at him, his mouth hanging open in shock.

“No kid, no.” His dad said, tears spilling from his eyes, “A week. You’ve been gone a week.” Stiles glanced to Brimmy who didn’t look bothered either way and was now chasing a small mouse into a bush.

“Oh.” Stiles replied, he didn’t have any kind of answer for that, a week? Was that really it? That’s how long he’d spent down there? “I guess that’s the meaning of eternal damnation then.” Stiles said, fighting back a small sob. He’d been down there for years and he’d only lost a week up here. That couldn’t be right. He couldn’t have only survived a week and nearly lost his mind. 

Brimmy was with him in an instant, growing quickly and wrapping his tail and wings around Stiles, pulling him into some semblance of a hug. 

“How long were you down there then?” Stiles asked quietly, knowing that Brimmy couldn’t answer, “It must have been an eternity for you.” He spent a minute just standing in silence, stroking the scales on Brimmy’s chest and marvelling at the colours of them, trying to convince himself that this was real, that he was home. 

“Stiles,” Danny’s voice came from behind his shoulder and Brimmy growled threateningly at him for a moment before glancing at Stiles and then shrinking back to cat size. “Stiles, are you alright? You’re covered in blood.” Danny explained and Stiles took a moment to look at himself, he was covered in blood, but he didn’t think he was hurt, he felt okay. 

“I’m fine.” He said, “It’s not my blood.” Stiles said slowly and then suddenly his dad was pulling him into a tight crushing hug and Stiles hadn’t felt so safe in so long. 

He sobbed openly onto his dad’s shoulder, hesitating for a moment when Danny hugged him too and then finally relaxing when Brimmy rubbed against his legs. 

“You’re home kid, you’re safe.” His dad muttered over and over in his ear, Stiles wasn’t sure which one of them he was trying to convince.

Stiles cried for a couple of hours, unable to move away from his dad, terrified that this was all some kind of messed up dream and he’d wake up in a second and be back in hell. They were huddled around him, both Danny and his dad and Brimmy, Stiles wanted to pull himself together, wanted to be strong and show them he was okay so they didn’t worry about him, but he just didn’t have the strength to do that right now.

“So you know about the supernatural now?” Stiles asked his dad a little while later and Noah nodded.

“I do. I know everything Stiles. I want you to know, what you did, the night you got your powers, I don’t blame you, I don’t think it’s your fault, you did what you had to kid, what anyone would have done. It’s not your fault and I am so damn proud of you. I’m so proud of you.” Noah repeated pulling him into another hug that just made Stiles start crying all over again. 

It was coming light before they finally started to get to their feet and move back towards the road, Stiles’ eyes constantly darting around looking for threats, his hands always resting on his weapons, Brimmy following next to him, looking oddly relaxed and smug as he padded through the preserve. 

“So how did you meet Brimmy?” Danny asked as they walked, trying to get Stiles to open up but knowing it would probably be a long process. 

“Some of the legions were attacking him, I had to protect him.” Stiles supplied. 

“Legions?” His dad asked in confused and Stiles nodded. 

“The demon Aamon that dragged me into hell, they were his legions, they were preparing for battle, obviously no one told them that Aamon was back in the underworld.” Stiles explained and Danny and Noah both nodded slowly, it was obvious they were still confused, “Come on, you don’t think I spent six years in hell and didn’t learn a few things do you?” Stiles added a small twitch of his lips, the closest he could get to smile, he had to be okay, he had to be okay for them. He could do this.

“So the legions were attacking him?” Danny asked, trying to keep Stiles talking, it was so good to hear his voice, see him in one piece, know that he was alive, that he was safe. 

“Yeah, he was chained up, couldn’t defend himself. It’s, it’s different down there.” Stiles sucked in a deep breath, tried to calm his racing heart, he wasn’t there, he was safe. “It’s, well, it’s eternal damnation, there’s no rest, no sleep, no peace, even when you die you come back, you fight again. There’s nothing but war. You fight or you die and then come back to fight again.” He said, trying to sound as calm about it as possible, ignoring the way his dad and Danny were looking at each other in shock. “I found Brimmy and I couldn’t watch them do that to him, so I fought for him.” Stiles said, looking down at the dragon which affection. “He kept me sane. He’s the reason I’m in one piece.” 

“How do you know his name?” His dad asked, letting out a short laugh when Brimmy flew up and landed on Noah’s shoulder. 

“I made it up, it’s not like he wore a collar.” Stiles said, smiling slightly at the look of delight on his dad’s face.

“So what does Brimmy mean?” Danny asked, knowing that Stiles would have a reason behind the name. 

“Brimstone, like fire and brimstone. I mean it worked down there, he was covered in ash, he was black as night, he looked dangerous. Now he looks like a kitten.” Stiles chuckled slightly and Brimmy jumped down to the ground, shifting quickly to the size of a lion and letting out a small roar in Stiles’ direction. Stiles laughed quietly and stroked behind Brimmy’s ears, “Okay, not a kitten. A majestic lion.” Stiles conceded and Brimmy nodded in satisfaction before moving ahead of them again. “We watched out for each other as best we could. He was all I had there.”

“He’s pretty cool.” Danny said slowly, unable to believe that Stiles was friends with a dragon. He didn’t even know how that happened, the last dragons had died out thousands of years ago, Stiles just kept surprising him.

By the time they got back to Stiles’ house it was obvious he was exhausted, Brimmy had shrunk again and was now curled up fast asleep in the remains of the fire, the heat making him purr happily. Stiles had gone into the bathroom and they’d been listening to the shower run for the past half hour, Noah kept glancing upwards in worry, and Danny kept glancing at Brimmy in the fire in amazement. When they’d finally heard the shower shut off Noah had gotten out of his seat and then sat back down again several times, obviously unsure of what to do for the best. 

Stiles came back down the stairs a little while later, dressed in joggers and a long sleeve t-shirt, the knives still strapped to his wrists. 

“How are you doing kiddo?” Noah asked and Stiles nodded unsurely. 

“I’m alright, just, adjusting I guess.” Stiles said, pulling at his sleeves slightly. He didn’t want to go to bed, he didn’t want to go to sleep, he knew what he would dream of and he was terrified of waking up back in hell. Stiles sat down at the kitchen table, taking the cup of hot chocolate his dad had made and sipping it carefully. He let out a little moan at the taste, god he’d forgotten how good hot chocolate tasted. 

“God, this is amazing.” Stiles moaned, taking a bigger sip and then gasping when it burnt his tongue and spitting it back into his cup, Danny laughing at his antics. “So what were you two up to all week?” Stiles said a minute later and Danny launched into everything they’d had to figure out and everything they’d had to do to get Stiles out. 

Stiles could feel his eyes slipping closed against his will, he’d forgotten what it felt like to feel tired, it was evident that Brimmy felt the same. When he couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer he stumbled across to the couch and fell asleep.

“You think he’s going to be alright?” Noah asked Danny, staring at his sleeping son on the couch, never wanting to look away from him again.

“I think it’ll take time.” Danny said honestly, thinking that he should probably go home and tell his gran what he had done and that it had worked, and then probably go to sleep for the next week, instead he stayed sat at the kitchen table watching Stiles sleep. 

Stiles woke up screaming, hands were on him and he shoved them away desperately, he couldn’t survive this, George was going to kill him again, he needed to fight. He could hear Brimmy roaring nearby, there was danger, he needed to protect him, he shoved upwards in a blind panic, reaching for whatever weapons he could find, feeling the magic inside himself that he hadn’t felt in so long.

“Stiles!” voice called out in panic, “Stiles, it’s okay, you’re okay, just take a breath, just breathe for me.” The voice was saying, he knew that voice, he just couldn’t place it and there was danger and he needed to protect Brimmy. “Stiles you’re home. You’re safe. Listen to me. Listen to my voice. Just put the knife down.” Stiles became aware of the knife he was holding now, it’s metal handle digging into his hand, the magic he possessed surging through him, demanding he protect them. He blinked slowly, taking in the room around him, his dad was there, so was Danny, both of them looking at him with fear in their eyes and Danny eyeing the blade with terror, a small cut on his hand. 

Stiles dropped the knife immediately, immense guilt washing over him and he broke down into tears, sinking back into the couch and looking at the knife on the floor with horror.

“I’m sorry.” Stiles sobbed, “I’m sorry, god I’m so sorry.” He repeated over and over, unable to believe he’d attacked his dad and one of his best friends. 

“It’s okay Stiles.” Danny reassured him, sitting on the table opposite him and looking Stiles in the eyes, “It’s okay, honestly, I’m fine. It’s just a scratch.” 

“I’m sorry.” Stiles repeated, unable to tear his gaze from the scratch on Danny’s hand. He’d done that, he’d caused that. “I didn’t mean to.”

“I know. I know Stiles. It’s okay. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have woken you up.” Danny insisted.

‘I could hear you screaming.’ He added mentally and Stiles looked up at him in shock, ‘I thought if you woke up it would be better.’

‘It is better.’ Stiles replied, ‘I just forgot where I was, it was all so real.’ He added.

‘I know. I felt it Stiles. I could feel how much pain you thought you were in. I wanted to help.’

‘Don’t do it again. I could have killed you.’ Stiles said guiltily.

‘Well, I’ll figure out a better way to wake you up then.’ Danny insisted. ‘We’ll fix this Stiles, we will, it’s just going to take time.’

“Are you two going to include me in whatever mental conversation you’re having right now?” Noah asked and Stiles gaped at him.

“You know about that too?” 

“I told you, Danny told me everything.” Noah smirked. “So, you still have your magic then?” Stiles nodded numbly, unable to believe that his dad knew about everything now, that he seemed so calm about it. “One day soon we’re going to have to talk about everything you lied to me about, about everything that happened with the pack and the hunters.” Stiles nodded, “But there’s no rush, I understand why you lied to me, you were trying to protect me, I get that. I won’t pretend that I’m okay with it all, I’m not and there’s still a lot for me to learn. But so long as I have you I don’t care. You’re all that matters to me.” 

“Did you contact the pack at all?” Stiles asked, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to know or not, he didn’t want to hear that they weren’t interested in saving him yet again. 

“No.” Danny said firmly, “I would have done. If I thought that they could help. But I knew they couldn’t and I didn’t want to involve them unnecessarily.”

“You did the right thing.” Stiles said, “They probably wouldn’t have come anyway.” He said sadly.

“Did Scott really know what Gerard had planned?” Noah asked, changing the conversation slightly and Stiles frowned, that all seemed so long ago now.

“I want to believe he didn’t, that he wouldn’t have done that to me, but he was working with Gerard, so he must have known.”

“I can’t believe that he did that to you. To Derek.” Noah said and Stiles nodded.

“Yeah, I guess Scott isn’t who I thought he was. Or, maybe, I just didn’t matter to him as much as I thought I did.” Stiles said sadly and Brimmy jumped into his lap and curled up before settling in to go to sleep.

“That’s Scott’s problem, not yours.” Danny advised and Noah nodded.

Stiles didn’t mean to slip back into sleep, one minute they were chatting quietly and the next he was asleep, as simple as that. 

He felt a heavy weight on his lap, could feel a familiar presence in his mind.

‘Stiles, it’s okay. You’re safe. Go back to sleep.’ Danny’s voice drifted into his mind and it made him relax slightly, enough that when he woke a few hours later it wasn’t screaming and crying, but more an abrupt awakening, sitting up quickly, Brimmy looking at him warily for disrupting his sleep and then going back to sleep when there was no obvious danger. 

“Hey kiddo,” His dad said, Stiles looked around seeing him sat at the kitchen table, sunlight was streaming in through the back window meaning he must have slept most of the day, he glanced around and his dad seemed to realize what he was looking for, “Danny went home about an hour ago, said he needed to sleep, poor guy must be exhausted, he’s barely slept while you were gone.” Noah paused as if realizing how guilty that would make Stiles feel, “I made some food, if you want some?” He added and Stiles made his way towards the kitchen, Brimmy walking next to him, his talons tapping against the tiled floor. 

“Thanks dad.” Stiles replied, taking the plate of food and starting to eat it quickly, moaning with delight at the taste of it. 

“I don’t know how to act.” His dad said quietly and Stiles looked up at him with his mouth still half full of food. “I mean, you’ve been to hell, literally hell, for years Stiles, and barely any time has passed here and I don’t know what you need, how to help you.” Stiles sat in silence for a moment, knowing what his dad was trying to say, he reached out mentally, something he hadn’t done with anyone other than Danny.

‘Your voice helps.’ He said and watched as his dad’s face lit up in surprise. 

‘It does?’ Noah replied.

‘Yeah. It really does. I’ll be fine dad. I just need some time.’

‘Well, you don’t have to go back to school for another two weeks so that’s a bit of time.’ Stiles let out a laugh, the idea of school, it seemed so long since school had even been an option. ‘Stiles,’ His dad queried and Stiles raised an eyebrow, ‘Danny said that the hunters tortured you, that you nearly died from your injuries, can I see?’

Of all the things he’d expected his dad to ask it wasn’t that. 

“Why?” Stiles asked out loud.

“I want to see the damage they did to you.”

“Does it matter?” Stiles said in confusion.

“Of course it does. You nearly died Stiles, and I didn’t notice.”

“That’s not your fault dad. I hid it from you.”

“I still should have noticed. So can I see them please?” Stiles hesitated for a few minutes before finally pulling off his shirt. His dad stared at him for a solid five minutes before finally moving closer.

“You have tattoo’s?” 

“They’re runes. They help me heal and help me control my magic. Except for this one,” He indicated the dragon curling around from his back, up his side and towards his heart, “This one appeared today, or technically, yesterday, when we got out,” He glanced at Brimmy, “I think he had something to do with it but I’m not entirely sure how.” He said.

“Are these all from Gerard?” Noah asked and Stiles reviewed the injuries on his body. 

“Most of them, there’s a couple from before that, when I was with the pack, but no, most of them are from Gerard and his men.”

“What about in hell? Are any of these from then?” His dad had moved around to see Stiles’ back now, he was staring at all the scars that were littered there, he wanted to believe that this had been hell, that Stiles hadn’t gone through all this with Gerard and that he hadn’t even noticed. There were still faint scars at his wrists, his back was covered with them, there were several on his ribs and a large one on his hip, Stiles, his Stiles, his son, had been tortured and he hadn’t noticed.

“No.” Stiles replied, slipping his shirt back on, “Injuries don’t last there. Your body just keeps healing itself so you can keep fighting.” Noah was silent, there was nothing he could say to that, he was too busy trying not to burst into tears. “I’ll be okay dad. I promise.” Stiles said.

“Alright,” Noah replied, his voice tight with guilt, how could he not have noticed? “Okay, I’ll believe you.” He paused, he had to make this right, he had to be there for his son, “So, what do you fancy doing? Danny went home a few hours ago, you’ve had some sleep, something to eat, what else would you like? We can go to the diner, get a milkshake?”

“Dad, don’t worry about me. I’m fine. I just need things to get back to normal, I think it’s the only way I’m going to get through this.” Brimmy jumped onto the table and devoured what was left on Stiles’ plate, “Okay, well as back to normal as possible.” Stiles laughed at the dragon’s antics.

“Yeah, a dragon is kind of a new thing.” Noah laughed, glad to hear Stiles laughing. “I wanted to tell you that Scott called a few times this past week, he said Allison’s in France for a few weeks and wanted to know if you were free. I told him you were busy. I didn’t think you’d want to talk to him.”

“Did he mention anything about the pack?”

“No.” Noah said, Stiles and Scott had been like brothers, he’d really struggled to believe that Scott had helped Gerard do this to Stiles, but seeing the physical evidence, well, there was no doubt in his mind now. He didn’t want his son to have anything to do with the pack that had betrayed him and let him down like this.

Stiles sat in silence, he was feeling the flow of his wards, something he hadn’t felt in so long, they felt just as they had done, warm and safe and intact. Brimmy nuzzled his head and Stiles grinned slightly. 

“I don’t blame Derek.” Stiles said suddenly, “I can understand why he said what he said. He thought I betrayed him, thought I was working with Gerard and Scott.”

“It doesn’t excuse what he said.” Noah said, unable to believe that Stiles was defending Derek.

“No, I know it doesn’t. But I know why he said it. The worst of It is the fact that what he said is true. Every word he said was true.”

“Stiles…” Stiles felt one of his wards shift and he held up his hand. 

“Wait a sec dad.” Stiles said, trying to stretch his magic so he could sense what it was. 

‘Danny, something just broke through my wards.’ Stiles said immediately.

‘I’m on my way, be there in ten, don’t leave without me.’ Danny replied quickly, evidently he hadn’t been asleep. 

“What’s going on?” Noah asked concerned.

“Something broke through one of my wards, I need to go check it out.” Stiles said, slipping knives into his wrist holders, two more at his lower back, before picking up the homemade sharpened bat. 

“No way, you’re not going out there alone. Not after last time.” Noah said, grabbing his gun belt.

“I won’t, Danny’s coming out with me.” 

“So am I.”

“No dad, you have to stay here where it’s safe.” Stiles insisted.

“Not a chance Stiles. I almost lost you last time. You can’t go rushing out there with no idea what you’re facing and no kind of plan when you ended up in hell last time!” Noah shouted.

“Fine!” Stiles replied loudly, “Fine,” he said calmer, “If you want to come you can come. But you’re going to stay behind me, both of you.”

Danny pulled up outside a few minutes after and both Stiles and Noah jumped into the vehicle.

“Any idea what it is?” Danny said as he started driving.

“No. But it didn’t feel like just one of them.” Stiles said honestly, pushing the map into Danny’s mind so he knew exactly where they were going. 

“Alright, well, this is going to fun.” Danny said sarcastically. 

They parked out by the preserve a few minutes later and Noah looked around suspiciously.

“So what do you guys usually do? Just wander round looking for trouble?” He asked.

‘Well, number one, we try and stay quiet.’ Stiles replied mentally and Noah heard Danny’s soft laughter in his mind. 

‘Woah. I can hear Danny too.’ Noah said and Danny looked at Stiles surprised.

‘You seem more in control than you were.’

‘It feels a lot more natural, more responsive.’ Stiles replied truthfully, he felt like the magic would do whatever he wanted, all he had to do was ask, moving through the preserve with an ease he hadn’t had before. 

‘How far?’ Noah asked and Stiles shoved the map into his mind as well. ‘This is amazing.’ Noah added and Stiles grinned. 

‘Time to concentrate, there’s something up ahead.’ Stiles said seriously.

They moved silently, Stiles could feel the magic brimming inside of him, ready to act, he felt in control. He slowed to a stop and Danny and his dad stopped behind him.

‘Something a few metres ahead.’ Stiles said.

He’d barely got the thought across when three things that were something vaguely human shaped but with wings and massive claws launched themselves from one of the trees and flew straight towards Stiles and Danny and Noah with long claws outstretched. He swung his bat quickly slicing it through the air at the creature attacking him. 

He spun round and saw the other two creatures attacking Danny and his dad, Danny was holding off his creature fairly well, a magic spell keeping him easily out of reach, but his dad wasn’t fairing so well. Stiles called to his magic, told it to put a shield between his father and the creature, to protect him, then he threw himself at the creatures back, breaking one of its wings and listening as it let out a squeal of pain. 

Another four creatures appeared from the trees and Stiles swung the bat viciously, his magic ensuring that Danny and his dad were kept out of the fight, that they were safe. When his bat was ripped from his grip by one of the creatures he pulled out his knives, slicing deep cuts into them, injuring them easily, he killed three of them, slicing their heads off ensuring that they stayed down. He gutted a fourth before losing the last of his knives and now it was hand to hand combat, well, hand to claw and wing combat. Stiles lost himself in the moment, using every tactic he had to defeat the creature and then finally there was only one left, the one that had originally attacked Danny. The magic was itching to be used and Stiles used it to shove the creature to the ground when it tried to stand. 

“Do you understand English?” Stiles said and the creature snarled, “If you leave now you can live.” The creature snarled again. 

“Stiles,” His dad called and Stiles was reminded that Danny and his dad were with them, he’d forgotten them, for those few minutes he was back in hell, fighting to survive, the only thing he knew how to do now. 

“I said leave.” Stiles threatened but the creature continued to struggle, Stiles heard the flap of wings behind him and he turned to see Brimmy landing behind him before growing to the size of a house, Danny and his dad were staring at Brimmy with wonder in their eyes, the creature trapped by Stiles’ magic seemed to be redoubling his efforts to attack them, but its’ eyes were fixed solely on Brimmy.

Stiles glanced at Brimmy who studied the creature for a moment before jerking his head forward and closing his massive jaws around the creature, easily breaking its neck and it crumpled to the ground, dead eyes unseeing. 

“You okay?” Stiles asked and Brimmy rolled his eyes sarcastically before shrinking back down to cat size and flying around their heads easily. “You guys okay?” Stiles asked and Danny and his dad both rolled their eyes too. 

“We’re fine.” Danny said, rolling his eyes slightly, there had been something different about Stiles in the way he had dealt with the creatures, not just how easily he had killed them, Danny knew that Stiles hadn’t wanted to kill them or even attack them, but you wouldn’t have guessed it from his voice or his eyes, Stiles’ eyes had been cold, his voice deadly. The creatures should have feared for their lives, they should have run when Stiles gave them the chance. “Are you okay?” Stiles took a few seconds to check himself over, his shirt had a tear in it where one set of claws must have gotten too close, shallow scratches on his chest that would heal quickly, and there were a few splatters of blood across his neck and cheek from when he had decapitated one of them, but otherwise he was fine.

“I’m fine.” Stiles said, taking in the destruction around him, he’d done this, he’d killed these creatures with barely a second thought. He hadn’t wanted to, he wished he hadn’t had to, he’d tried to scare them off, but it must have still been obvious how scared he had been, the creatures hadn’t retreated and he’d killed them. “I’m fine.” He repeated, if he kept repeating it maybe he’d feel it was true. 

“What do we do with the bodies?” Noah asked and Stiles stared at them numbly, there was no way these things would pass as human, they couldn’t report them to the police. Brimmy snorted, smoke coming out of his nostrils, landing on the ground, growing to the size of a house again and snapping up the bodies in a matter of seconds. Stiles laughed in surprise.

“Hungry boy?” He laughed and Brimmy rolled his eyes before shrinking and flying off again, the danger had obviously now passed. 

They walked back to the car a lot slower than they had raced out there, Stiles was exhausted, he could only imagine how tired Danny and his dad must be. They sat in almost silence, obviously they were all just trying to process how much had happened in the last twenty-four hours. By the time they got back to the house it was obvious to all of them that they needed to sleep, Danny fell onto the couch and was asleep before Stiles had made it to the first step.


	4. Chapter 4

When Stiles woke up it took him a few minutes to calm his racing heart, Brimmy fast asleep on the pillow next to him helped, everything that had happened was real, but so was getting home, he had made it home, he was alive, he was safe. 

He stumbled down the stairs, surprised to see Danny still there and sat around the kitchen table with his dad. 

“Morning kiddo.” Noah said and Stiles grinned at him, he didn’t think he’d ever get to hear his dads voice again. 

“Morning.” Stiles replied, taking a swig of milk straight from the carton and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. 

“So,” Danny said, it was obvious whatever he wanted to say was important, Stiles remained silent to let Danny talked, “Last night was pretty cool, like, not just the control you had over your magic and everything, but you know, the way you fought was pretty amazing.” Stiles didn’t know what to say to that. “I was talking to your dad, and, well, the way you fought, I was just, I was thinking that it would be kind of cool to be able to fight like that.” Danny said, and Stiles looked at him in confusion for a moment. “I mean, I thought, that maybe, you would teach me to fight like that, so I could be more helpful when we’re out there.”

“You’re always helpful Danny.” Stiles replied.

“But I want to be more helpful Stiles, if you could teach me, just a few things, just so I’d be able to protect myself a little better.” Danny said, Stiles smirked, he knew what Danny was doing, going for Stiles’ weak point, the need to protect his friends and his family. 

“I don’t know that I’d know how to teach you.” Stiles sighed. 

“I think it’s a great idea.” Noah added, he couldn’t help but think that maybe it would be good for Stiles to have a project, something to keep him busy. 

“We’ll figure it out,” Danny added, “I mean, we can go practice lacrosse for a bit if you want? Then see how we feel after that?”

Stiles looked outside, it was bright and sunny and the perfect summer day, he should be outside enjoying it, not inside, afraid to face the world, afraid for people to see what he had become. 

“I guess.” Stiles said slowly, maybe the sunshine would chase away the darkness he felt inside him. Brimmy was flying around the room in excitement and Stiles couldn’t help but smile. “Okay, fine, let’s go practice for a bit, then we can go from there.” Stiles said, “But first, food!” He said, digging into the plate of scrambled eggs that his dad had made, “God these are delicious.” He moaned around a mouth full of eggs. “I don’t think I’m ever going to get used to food again.”

They arrived at the school field mid-afternoon, Brimmy had flown off into the trees, no doubt finding a patch of sunlight to fall asleep in. Stiles and Danny played lacrosse and Danny was instantly aware of just how different Stiles was, he’d grown quicker and more decisive, easily getting around Danny time after time.

By the time they had finished they were both panting harshly and dripping with sweat but Stiles had a satisfied smile on his face that Danny thought made it worth it. 

“You sure about this?” Stiles asked as Danny stood up and motioned for Stiles to do the same, Danny nodded and Stiles swiped his legs out from under him, knocking him to the ground instantly.

“Cheater.” Danny said getting back up to his feet, Stiles grinned. 

“First rule is there are no rules.” Stiles said, holding out his hand, Danny eyed him suspiciously before taking his hand and Stiles pulled him to his feet. “Second rule is to use whatever you have to your advantage.” Stiles swung the lacrosse stick easily, spinning it in his hands and taking on a fighting stance, Danny looked slightly nervous. “Don’t worry, I’ll go easy on you.” Stiles grinned and Danny swung the stick quickly towards Stiles, hoping to catch him by surprise, instead Stiles dodged out of the way and shoved the stick backwards, he could have easily hit Danny but he stopped it a few inches from Danny’s chest. 

Danny fought with everything he had, at first he was reluctant in case he actually manged to hit Stiles but as time went on and none of his hits even got close he decided to stop holding back. He knew Stiles was only toying with him, could see it from the small smile on Stiles’ face, it made him fight even harder. Stiles swung the lacrosse stick, knocking his legs out from under him and Danny landed flat on his back, panting for breath. 

“You feeling okay?” Stiles asked and Danny glared at him, unable to believe that Stiles was still standing up and able to talk when he was absolutely exhausted. 

Brimmy flew in from the trees a few minutes later and started licking at his face with a rough tongue, Danny batting him away with his hands uselessly. 

“I think he’s more like a dog than a cat.” Stiles said a few moments later and Danny snorted. 

“A large, terrifying, possibly fire breathing dog.” Danny laughed and Brimmy continued licking at his face happily. “This was good.” Danny said when he managed to get to his feet several minutes later.

“You think?” Stiles asked, stretching out slightly, the ache in his muscles felt good, he felt good. 

“Yeah.” Danny replied, “I mean, I don’t know how much I actually learned, but I feel like it was useful.” Stiles nodded seriously, “How much were you actually holding back?” Danny asked and Stiles laughed, an honest to god laugh. 

“Well, it was a nice warm up.” Stiles grinned and Danny looked up at him in exasperation. 

“Seriously?” He said in disbelief and Stiles just shrugged casually. 

“Dude, not like it’s a big deal, although, do you think I’ll get on the first team this year?”

“I think you could be captain if you wanted.” Danny replied honestly and Stiles blushed, walking back towards the car. “You want to do it again tomorrow?” He asked and Stiles shrugged although it was obvious that Stiles would be more than happy to do it again. 

“Yeah, I guess.” Stiles said, hoping it came across as casual and not showing just how much he had enjoyed it.

The next two weeks were spent in a similar manner, fighting anything that broke through the wards, Stiles was sometimes able to tell what it was before they got there, just from the feel of the creature as it passed through the wards, which definitely worked to their advantage. Stiles went across to see Mina a few times, she’d yelled a lot at Danny for trying such a risky spell then hugged them both tightly telling them how relieved she was that they were both safe, before ordering Stiles into the kitchen to grow her herbs.

They spent some time playing lacrosse, even with some of the other guys, Stiles seemed to be fine with that and they all marvelled at how much he’d improved over the summer, Stiles and Danny both grinned at that. They spent the evenings training in either the back garden or on the lacrosse field, Danny improving slowly but still nowhere near as good as Stiles, they started using magic to fight too, Danny throwing out defensive spells and Stiles grinned, he could block them but the average monster that broke through the wards didn’t have magic and Danny would be able to maim them easily.

There was one particularly bad day when Stiles started to have a panic attack, Danny wasn’t sure what had started it, one minute he had been fine and the next he was on the ground unable to breathe properly a large lightning dome flaring up around him within seconds and Danny was unable to get him to calm down. 

All Stiles could see was George and the other hunters screaming and begging him to stop, George beating him in hell, fighting him, killing him over and over. He couldn’t do this, he’d killed them, he’d killed them all, he could see the pack, his father, Danny, all of them dead because of him, because he couldn’t control this, he had no control, he’d murdered them all.

“Stiles, listen to me.” A familiar voice said, “Stiles, listen, it’s okay. I’m here. Just calm down, take a breath.” The voice kept talking until he finally recognized it as his fathers and then slowly, inch by inch, he managed to gain control over the dome until finally got it to stop, seconds before everything went black.

Danny told him later, when he’d woken up, that he’d been in the dome for hours, that no matter how much Danny had tried to get through to him he couldn’t. That it had taken his dad racing to his side and talking to him for over two hours before Stiles had started to regain control, and that Brimmy had been sat outside the dome the entire time, growling at the lightning and trying to get to Stiles. 

Stiles couldn’t remember any of it, all he could see were the dead bodies at his feet. He’d cried himself to sleep that night.

Danny knew he would do everything he could to ensure that Stiles never had a panic attack again, when Stiles had said about it before Danny had thought it would be kind of cool, he’d thought that Stiles could use the lightning as a defensive weapon but instead Stiles had had no control over it, he hadn’t been able to reach him, hadn’t been able to contact him at all, instead he’d just had to watch uselessly as Stiles screamed and cried and begged, his clothes reduced to tatters as the lightning streamed through his body over and over. Danny would never let him go through that again. 

Stiles still woke screaming most nights, his time in hell still fresh in his mind, Brimmy was always nearby and Stiles held him close until he finally calmed himself down. His dad’s voice would be in his mind a moment later, telling him it was okay, that he was safe, and sometimes when Stiles needed more than that his dad would come in and hug him until he felt he could go back to sleep. He still flinched from a lot of human contact, which worried both Danny and his dad, but he was getting better and that was what mattered.

It wasn’t perfect but Stiles was dealing, admittedly he wasn’t looking forward to going back to school, to be surrounded by all those people, to be surrounded by possible threats. It was the night before they were due to go back to school and Stiles was stood at the kitchen table while Danny was sprawled across the couch.

“I think it’s time to cut this all off.” Stiles said, running his fingers through his hair that he’d finally grown out over the summer.

“What?” Danny said startled, looking at Stiles in surprise.

“Well, school starts back tomorrow, I figure…”

“Dude, no!” Danny said loudly, cutting across him, and Stiles raised an eyebrow at him, “I mean, it suits you, you’ve changed over the summer, let everyone see that.”

“What? See that I’m a mess?” 

“No.” Danny said viciously, “You’re not a mess, you’ve been through a lot this summer and you’ve come out stronger because of it, I mean who else could have survived hell?” Stiles was silent and Danny sighed heavily, “Alright, don’t think I’m coming onto you here, you know I fancy Isaac despite everything and that what we have is not like that, so don’t go getting yourself confused,” Stiles snorted, “But, you’re hot.”

“I’m sorry what now?” Stiles said, spitting out the mouthful of milk he had.

“I mean it, like, dude, you asked me if gay guys would find you attractive, well hell yeah they would. You’re hot, like, really hot.” Stiles was blushing brightly, “I mean, don’t make me go into it, but you’re hot and the hair adds to it and I think, don’t shave it off, let everyone see what they were missing for all these years.”

“What?” Stiles spluttered again.

“Okay, just imagine it, you go into school tomorrow morning looking hot as hell, everyone will see you, the pack will see you, and they’ll be thinking, ‘why the hell did we treat Stiles so badly?’ especially when all the guys chat to you about practice over the summer, let people see how awesome you are.”

“I really don’t think that’s how it’s going to go Danny.” Stiles said embarrassed. 

“Well, I do. So, I vote, leave the hair, we’ll pick out a nice outfit for you, you march into school like you own the place and show the pack just how much they fucked up.” Danny said and Stiles smiled a little sadly.

“They’re not going to care Danny.”

“Well, just show them how great you are doing without their help? Okay?” 

“Okay.” Stiles replied a little unsure as Danny marched him upstairs and made him try on pretty much his entire wardrobe before settling on a pair of tight jeans that apparently made his ass look awesome and a tight long sleeve black t-shirt that showed off the rest of his physique while still hiding the slight scars on his wrists that still bothered Stiles. Stiles felt more than a little bit unsure about it but Danny was insistent and he finally agreed. 

Derek had spent the summer pretty sure that he was slowly losing his mind. The pack was all closer than they had been before, he’d got them an apartment and Cora, Isaac and Peter were all living there with him. Erica and Boyd were over pretty much all the time and Lydia and Jackson came to every pack night they had, Lydia even offering to help furnish the loft. It was good that they had somewhere to stay that wasn’t an abandoned or run down building, especially when the Alpha pack attacked them a few times. Thankfully the blue mist that protected Erica and Boyd gave them a major advantage and they’d managed to fight them off with only a few minor injuries. 

Derek thanked whatever had caused the mist repeatedly, without it he was sure his pack would all be dead. He was glad that they would be protected when they were at school as well, especially as it seemed that two of the alphas were going to be attending the school at the start of the semester.

Scott had shown up without Allison the first time he came, apparently, she was in France and Stiles was busy and Scott decided it was probably time to apologize to Derek. 

Derek hadn’t accepted it easily but he could see how much the pack wanted Scott to be part of it all so he sucked it up and let it go. Allison had come for the first time last week and he’d even accepted that, it wasn’t Allison’s fault that Scott had worked with Gerard, and he could even understand why Allison had worked with Gerard after her mother’s death, she’d had every right to be angry, but she had calmed down now, after seeing what her grandfather had been willing to do she’d chosen to help the wolves, that was what mattered. 

The problem was that there was still something missing, that even though the pack were all together they still weren’t a pack, they treated each other like colleagues rather than pack and he hated that, he wanted the closeness that he had with Cora, hell, even Peter was more affectionate than some of the others. 

On top of that his wolf had barely given him a moments rest all summer, telling him that he needed Stiles. Derek gritted his teeth and ignored it, even when for one whole week it had gone suddenly silent and subdued and Derek had worried at the sudden lack of fight from his wolf. 

The pack was due to go back to school tomorrow and Derek was a little bit sad that the only company he’d have during the day was Peter, even if he did seem a lot saner than he had done before. He could just imagine Stiles telling him to get a grip and then he growled, he wasn’t allowed to think about Stiles, anything they might or could have had was over, Stiles had shown his true colours, he’d betrayed Derek. Maybe Derek had had to take Scott in, but that was because he was a wolf, he couldn’t abandon Scott, but he could refuse to deal with Stiles. Stiles was human and he’d betrayed Derek, Derek had no loyalty to Stiles. He didn’t have to have him in his life.

The whole pack was over at the loft, Scott had asked if it was okay to bring Deaton over to discuss something important and Derek had agreed, it was weird that Scott had asked for permission, it was something he’d have to get used to.

“So, Dr Deaton, how can we help you?” Peter asked and Deaton eyed him suspiciously, he wasn’t used to Peter being so polite.

“I wanted to discuss something with you, perhaps get your help with it.” Deaton said slowly, looking around the room, assessing his surroundings.

“We’ll try.” Derek replied. “Why don’t you tell us what’s going on and then we can see if we can help you.”

“Well, I have been approached by the Alpha of the Alpha pack.” Deaton began and there were several snarls around the room, “What you’re probably unaware of,” Deaton continued, “over the summer a mage has moved into Beacon Hills.”

“A mage?” Derek and Peter both said in surprise while the rest of the pack looked at them cluelessly.

“Yes. I first sensed the mages magic just before the summer break, it has only increased over the summer.”

“What does this have to do with the Alpha pack?” Cora asked in confusion.

“The Alpha packs original plan was to attack your pack and take over the town, maybe even get Derek to join their pack after they’d killed you all.” 

“You’re not really selling it here.” Jackson said sullenly.

“However,” Deaton continued as if Jackson hadn’t spoken, “the mage cast a spell a few days ago, one big enough that even Deucalion with his limited knowledge of magic sensed it.”

“Which means what?” Lydia asked, “And what is a mage exactly?”

“A mage is a very powerful magic user.” Deaton explained, “Deucalion wants that. He has come to me with the offer that he will leave your pack alone, on the condition that we track down the mage and hand them over to him.” 

“Why would we do that?” Peter asked. 

“Well, he’ll spare your lives.” Deaton said calmly.

“Or we could use this mage ourselves,” Erica said, “If they are that powerful could we not get them on our side?”

“I don’t think that’s a wise idea, mages are not known for their patience.” Deaton said, “I think the best bet would be find out who the mage is and go from there.”

“And how do you expect to do that?” Isaac asked

“This mage moved to the area just before summer, to be as powerful as he is I’d guess he’s middle-aged, maybe late forties.”

“You think he’s a guy?” Erica asked.

“Something about his magic feels masculine.” Deaton replied.

“So, what do you want us to do? Track every middle-aged guy around town? Ask them if they are a mage or not?” Boyd asked sarcastically.

“I could ask Stiles?” Scott suggested and Derek tensed.

“Are you two speaking again then?” Lydia asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, we’re going to be in school tomorrow, he’ll have to talk to me then.” Scott said.

“What? Why aren’t you two talking?” Peter asked in genuine confusion, “I thought you two were joined at the hip when you weren’t here?”

“Well, after the whole Gerard thing,” Scott said, glancing at the ground guiltily, “He wasn’t exactly happy with me.”

“What do you mean?” Derek growled and Scott glanced at him nervously.

“Well, Stiles was pissed with me, he kept going on about how I betrayed him and then I said some things that were kind of out of line and he left and every time I’ve tried to hang out over summer he’s said he’s too busy or whatever.”

“Why was he mad at you?” Peter asked, Cora was looking at them all in confusion, she didn’t really understand who Stiles was or what was going on here, but she could tell from the tension in everyone’s voices it was obvious it was important.

“He said I should have told him.” Scott admitted, “That I should have come to him, I told him that I didn’t need him to always come up with the plans.” 

Derek felt like he’d been punched in the gut.

“But Stiles knew.” He insisted, “Stiles knew about your plan. You came up with it together.” 

“No.” Scott replied, “I didn’t want to get him involved. Gerard was threatening my mum, threatening Allison, if I’d have gone to Stiles, he would have come to you and then Gerard would have hurt my mum. I had to plan it myself.”

“He knew though.” Derek growled, Stiles had to have known, he had to. “He must have known what you were up to!”

“He didn’t.” Scott said quietly, “He was so mad at me, just kept going on how I betrayed him, I told him that I didn’t need him to come up with every plan and he just left.” Derek couldn’t breathe, Stiles hadn’t known, he hadn’t known, god, Stiles hasn’t known. 

“But, he had to know.” Derek said, not caring that he was repeating himself, feeling like his heart was shattering into pieces. Stiles hadn’t known and Derek had said all those awful things to him, god, oh god, Stiles must hate him.

“He didn’t know.” Scott repeated.

“He didn’t know.” Derek muttered in shock. “Oh my god, he didn’t know.” 

“Okay, so we’re clear on the fact that Stiles didn’t know about Scott’s plan.” Lydia said, looking at Derek like he’d lost his mind slightly, “So you’re going to talk to him tomorrow, he’s going to come over here tomorrow night, Derek can apologize for whatever he’s so upset about and then we can get Stiles back on side.”

“He’s not going to do that.” Peter said, “Not easily at least.” He looked to Derek and the whole pack turned to stare at him.

“I might have also said some things to Stiles that I didn’t mean.” Derek admitted, “But I thought he knew about the plan, that he’d been working against me, with Gerard.” He said in defence.

“I think we’ve all been a bit rude to Stiles on occasion,” Isaac said reasonably, “He has still been helpful quite a few times though, and he can probably use his dads’ resources to find out anyone who moved into town recently.”

“Okay, good,” Allison said, “So we have a plan, we just need Stiles. Scott can talk to him before school tomorrow and once they’ve sorted things Stiles can help us.”

“What about what I said to him?” Scott replied, “I think I really upset him.”

“This is Stilinski we’re on about.” Jackson sneered, “He doesn’t know how to hold a grudge against you. It’ll be fine.” 

Stiles overslept. It wasn’t a good start to the day, he threw on the clothes that Danny had picked out without looking in the mirror and raced to school and just made it to his first class as the bell rung. In a way it was a relief, he didn’t have a chance to talk to anyone, or see anyone, he could just get to class without any hassle. 

Danny smirked at him when he came in and Stiles felt several sets of eyes on him as he slid into his seat.

‘I told you that you’d look hot.’ Danny said and Stiles blushed, pulling out his books and concentrating on the class. 

His first two lessons went quite well, there was a new girl in his second class who kept glancing at him oddly, when she was introduced as Cora Hale he figured out why. She was in his third class too along with Erica, who stood staring at him with her mouth hanging open for a good five minutes before Cora pulled her to sit down, there was also a new teacher Ms Blake, who was staring at him oddly, Stiles wasn’t sure what to think, she had a kind of dark glow in her chest and he wondered if she might be another spark, he tried to push it to the back of his mind and concentrate on class. 

Stiles concentrated on his work which was really hard to do for a number of reasons, firstly, people kept interrupting him, asking if he’d had a good summer, what he’d been up to, how he was getting on with the work, all kinds of random questions which annoyed him no end, especially since he was so agitated anyway. Secondly his mind was all over the place, he felt so guilty leaving Brimmy at home all day, although he’d left the back window open so he guessed that Brimmy could fly into the preserve if he wanted to, but it was the first time they’d been apart for more than a few hours since he’d returned from hell and Stiles felt a little lost without him.

Erica gaping at him like she’d never seen him before was almost the final straw. Did they just forget they went to the same school as him? That because Derek told him he wasn’t pack they’d never have to see him again? Well, tough, they’d just have to deal with it.

“Oh my god, have you guys seen Stiles yet!?” Erica practically screeched as she reached their table, dragging Cora by the hand, their class had let out late and they were one of the last into the cafeteria. The rest of the pack all turned to look at her and she could tell that they hadn’t seen Stiles.

“What are you on about?” Jackson sneered.

“Cora,” Erica said sweetly, “If you had to use one word to describe Stiles, what would it be?” She said grinning and Cora shrugged.

“Hot.” She said after only a seconds thought. 

“What?” Jackson spluttered, “This is Stilinski we are on about right?”

“Definitely.” Erica grinned, “The summer has been good to him.” She said, smiling widely and taking a seat at the table, staring at the doorway.

“Should I be getting jealous?” Boyd asked seriously and Erica laughed, kissing him on the cheek.

“A girls allowed to window shop right?” She said, then turned her attention back to the door when Stiles walked through. 

The whole table went quiet, in fact, if they were being honest, the whole cafeteria had suddenly gone quiet. Stiles hadn’t looked up yet, he was still stuffing notes into his bag, a pencil gripped tight between his teeth. He was wearing tight jeans and a long black t-shirt that clung to his lean body, Scott was pretty confident that Stiles hadn’t had those kind of muscles before summer break, plus his usual buzz cut was long gone, instead he’d let his hair grow out and it was sticking up in all directions like he’d only just rolled out of bed, Scott thought it should look stupid, instead it looked pretty awesome, he wished he could get his hair to do that.

“Stiles!” They heard a voice shout and Jackson was surprised to see it was Danny calling out to Stiles, Danny who had basically blanked him since they’d got to school this morning, why the hell was he talking to Stiles? Stiles glanced up from his bag, saw most of the cafeteria staring at him, dropped his bag in shock, blushed and then bent down to pick everything up. 

“Oh my god.” Lydia and Allison said at the same time. 

“I think I might be a little bit in love.” Erica added. Scott just looked slightly revolted at the blatant staring at Stiles’ ass from the girls and a few of the boys too. 

Scott jumped out of his seat and headed over to Stiles, grabbing the last of his papers and passing them back to Stiles.

“Thanks.” Stiles muttered before looking up and seeing it was Scott and then his eyes just sort of went cold. 

“Hey, buddy, where’ve you been all summer?” Scott asked, “I wanted to hang out.” 

“I was busy.” Stiles replied coldly and Scott was worried, Stiles couldn’t still be mad at him could he?

“Oh, well, it’s not a big deal. Anyway, I wanted to chat to you, there’s this thing that we need your help with…” He started only to be interrupted by another voice shouting.

“Stilinski, get your ass over here already!” It was Matt, one of the other lacrosse players, calling to him from the same table where Danny was sat. 

Stiles glanced once at Scott before walking away from him and joining the other players, they actually made room for him at the table and were all chatting away to him within a moment. Scott just stared in shock as the rest of the people in the cafeteria gradually resumed their normal conversations, Stiles had walked away from him. He couldn’t believe this. 

Stiles had sat down quickly feeling a little bit sick, Scott had just acted so normal with him, like he hadn’t betrayed him and let Gerard torture him. He wasn’t ready for this, wasn’t ready to face them. Thankfully Matt had spared him and he almost ran to the table, not willing to look back, not wanting to see Scott, knowing that he’d cave if Scott asked him for help, if any of them asked him for help. 

He couldn’t be around them, couldn’t bear to be around them, but he couldn’t let something happen to them, not if they really needed his help. 

“Dude,” Danny said interrupting him from his thoughts, “Coach is holding try-outs after school today, we’re going aren’t we?” 

“Yeah.” Stiles said, forcing a smile, he wasn’t going to get involved with the pack, he wouldn’t.

“Good, so, what did Scott want?” Stiles shrugged, he didn’t really want to talk about it in front of the others, ‘He wanted help with something?’ Danny asked and Stiles grinned, he loved telepathic communication. 

‘Yeah. Apparently they need my help with something…’ 

‘You’re not going to do it though, are you?’ Danny asked, ‘I mean, look what happened last time you tried to help.’

‘I haven’t forgotten.’ Stiles snapped then sighed, he didn’t want to shout at Danny either, ‘I still care if they’re in danger.’

‘I get that,’ Danny replied slowly, ‘But they never seem to care if you’re in danger. I just want you to be safe that’s all.’ He said and Stiles smiled, it was great having a friend like Danny.

“So, Stilinski, you going to go easy on me tonight in front of coach?” One of the other lads asked and Stiles smirked.

“Depends.” He replied, “You going to bring you’re a-game or not?” There were a few laughs around the table and Stiles tried to be happy, tried to feel like this was right for him, but if he was honest, he missed Scott, he missed his brother in all but blood, he wished that none of this had ever happened, that they’d never gone out to the woods that night, that Scott was still human, that they were still friends.

Stiles excused himself not long after that, he was feeling a little overwhelmed with all the people around and he needed some fresh air. He was sat on the bonnet of his jeep, taking a few deep breaths when he heard someone approaching, he looked up and saw two twins coming towards him, looking very serious. He rolled his eyes.

“What can I do for you?” Stiles asked as soon as they were close enough.

“Our Alpha wants to talk to you. He’s heard the Hale pack mention you, he wants to discuss your place in their pack.” One of them said, flashing his eyes an Alpha red in warning and Stiles glanced around to make sure nobody else had witnessed it.

“You know you guys are Alpha’s though right? How can an Alpha have an Alpha?” Stiles asked in confusion, he wasn’t even going to go into the fact that he wasn’t part of the Hale pack, Derek had made that perfectly clear.

“We’re part of the Alpha pack.” The second twin said proudly and Stiles sat in silence for a moment, trying to process that fact.

‘Scott has just seen you out of the window.’ Danny said mentally, ‘He’s on his way with the rest of the pack, they seem to think you need protecting from the twins.’

‘Their Alphas, part of the Alpha pack.’ Stiles replied and he heard Danny curse.

‘Want me to come?’

‘Nope, I’ve got it handled.’ He replied calmly. 

“Sorry,” Stiles said sarcastically, ‘But you can tell your Alpha I politely decline his offer.” He was already sliding off the bonnet and walking past the twins when one of them grabbed his arm.

“It wasn’t an offer.” The twin snarled.

“Take your hands off me.” Stiles said, glaring at the twin. 

“Our Alpha wants to speak to you, you will come with us.” The second one said. Stiles glanced around, there were a few people nearer the school, he could see the pack already rushing out of the door, rushing towards them, he didn’t need to cause a scene. 

“Don’t make me repeat myself.” Stiles said coldly, slipping a knife from his wrist and pressing it tightly against the twins’ neck before he had a chance to move. The second twin snarled but made no move to attack Stiles, the first one slowly releasing his hand from Stiles’ arm. 

As soon as he was free Stiles slipped the knife back into his wrist holder, the one he hadn’t told his dad or Danny that he was bringing to school, and then walked calmly towards the school.

“Dude, are you okay?” Scott asked as soon as he saw Stiles.

“Fine.” Stiles said, pushing past them back towards the school, trying to ignore the way his heart was pounding, his stomach was swirling and his magic was itching to be released. 

“Hey, wait up Stiles.” Scott called after him but Stiles didn’t want to talk to him, couldn’t deal with him. He just needed to get away.

‘Want to meet me on the field?’ Danny asked, seemingly able to sense how confused Stiles felt right now, ‘We’ve got half an hour left? We could go through some moves?’ Stiles wasn’t sure what he wanted but, right now, the idea of sparring sounded very good to him.

‘Yes please.’ Stiles replied, changing direction and heading to the field, glad he’d got his clothes for lacrosse in his bag. Once he got there it was obvious that they wouldn’t be able to spar, there were way too many people hanging around, he met up with Danny who motioned him to follow him towards the woods. 

They’d only gone a few feet in when Brimmy swooped down from one of the trees and landed on Stiles’ shoulder, rubbing his face happily against Stiles’. 

“Hey buddy,” Stiles whispered in greeting, “Were you bored at home by yourself?” Brimmy continued rubbing his face against Stiles’ which made Stiles think that was a yes.

“Okay, well we can’t spar.” Danny said, indicating the field just behind them, seemingly not worried about the fact that if anyone approached them now they’d see a dragon, he watched as Danny cast a quick illusion spell so that no-one would be able to see or hear them even if they came this way. “Want to tell me what happened?” Stiles shrugged.

“It wasn’t a big deal.” He said, trying to convince himself, it hadn’t been Gerard, or George or any of the thousands of humans in hell, it had just been a werewolf, he could have killed them both easily. “It wasn’t.” He added when Danny looked at him sceptically. 

“What did they want?” Danny asked and Stiles shrugged again.

“I don’t know, their Alpha wants to talk to me, apparently they heard the Hale pack talking and my name came up.” 

“So they don’t know about your magic?” Danny asked relaxing slightly when Stiles shook his head.

“I don’t think so, they just said the Alpha wanted to talk to me about my place in the pack.” 

“Well, that’s good then. I mean, you know, that they don’t know that.” Danny replied. Stiles was silent, “I know today is a lot to take, but you’re doing great, we’ll spar after try-outs and then we can just chill, sound good?” Stiles nodded. 

“I just wish I was better at this.” He said, gesturing to the school behind them, “I just feel a little overwhelmed.” 

“You’re still doing great Stiles, I’m really proud of you.” Danny said, motioning that they should head back to school.

“Alright, Brimmy, you need to go home.” Stiles said and the dragon looked at him slightly sadly before flying off back through the woods. “He hates me now.” Stiles said jokingly and Danny laughed.

“He doesn’t.” He watched the dragon disappear, “You know he really is like a giant cat.”

“He’s got the loyalty of a dog though.” Stiles joked as they stepped back onto the school field.

The afternoon was hard, harder than Stiles had expected, he had several members of the pack in each of his classes and he was doing his best to ignore them as much as he could. Instead he couldn’t help but wonder what kind of trouble they were in that they needed his help, he thought about the Alpha pack, a pack of Alphas, that must be what the problem was, but how could Stiles help with that? He wanted to ask, wanted to know what was going on, but he couldn’t ask Scott, couldn’t look at him without thinking about what Gerard had done to him, and Scott had known.

Instead he’d kept to himself as much as he could, ignoring their attempts to talk to him, talking to anyone else so that he didn’t have to talk to them and watching as the clock kept moving forward one minute at a time. 

“Scott?” Derek asked, answering his phone, it was weird that Scott was calling him, especially while he should still be in school. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s Stiles.” Scott said sounding agitated, “I’ve tried talking to him but he won’t have anything to do with any of us.”

“You’ll just have to keep trying.” Derek advised, he knew he wouldn’t be able to be rational around Stiles at the moment, all he wanted to do was hold him, apologize for hurting him, for saying all those awful things, and he didn’t know how Stiles would react to that at all, he’d been so cruel to him, so convinced that Stiles had betrayed him, he would never be able to make it right. 

“I think something’s happened to him over the summer.” Scott insisted, “I saw him talking to the Alpha twins earlier and then he just walked away like it was no big deal, and he’s changed too, he looks different, I don’t know, but different, and then I lost him at lunchtime, I couldn’t find his heartbeat or his voice or anything. I think, Derek,” Scott paused, “I think Stiles has been bitten by the Alpha pack, and I think he’s with them.” 

Derek couldn’t even process that, the idea was ludicrous.

“No. You must be wrong. Does he smell like a wolf?” Unable to believe that Stiles was a werewolf, that he was against them.

“No, but Alpha’s can hide their scents from the betas can’t they? I thought you could come to school, check if he is or isn’t a werewolf?” 

Derek could feel his claws coming out at the very thought of Stiles as a werewolf, a werewolf that wasn’t part of his pack. He knew if he smelt Stiles, smelt that he belonged to another pack, he wouldn’t be able to handle it.

“Fine.” He said through gritted teeth. 

Danny was sat in his final class of the day, Stiles a few rows ahead of him, sat next to a blonde girl that Danny had seen around before; the day had been longer than he’d anticipated and having Harris last thing was tough, he was being exceptionally rude to Stiles, but Stiles seemed to be holding it together okay. Danny was looking forward to try-outs, the running around would do him good, and he couldn’t wait to see the look on the packs’ faces when Stiles kicked their ass. 

‘Dude,’ Stiles voice echoed in his head and Danny knew instantly that something was wrong.

‘What’s up?’

‘Something just passed through the wards.’

‘Can you feel what it is?’ Danny asked.

‘Not sure, it feels off somehow, like sludge, and it came through the main road, not the preserve.’ Stiles replied.

‘You think we need to go deal with it right now?’

‘No.’ Stiles said a minute later, ‘It can wait, we can go tonight, after try-outs?’

‘Sure thing. Head to the jeep after class and we can talk before try-outs?’ Danny replied, glad that Stiles was actually thinking things through rather than just rushing off to deal with it.

‘Yep, sure thing.’ Stiles replied, Danny couldn’t help the small smile on his face and Lydia was looking at him curiously.

“You seem happy?” She whispered and Danny smirked.

“A lot to be happy about.” He replied before going back to his work, effectively ending the conversation.

He met up with Stiles at the door, Harris glaring at Stiles with outright hatred, and then they headed to their lockers and then out to his jeep. Stiles was surprised to see what looked like the whole pack stood at the front of his jeep, attracting several stares, when he got closer he saw Derek stood there too and he slowed to a stop, Danny looking at him in worry. Stiles gritted his teeth and marched forward.

“What do you want?” Stiles said quickly, not bothering with the pleasantries. Derek glared at Danny and Stiles rolled his eyes, “He knows. So, what do you want?” He said, trying to keep his voice as neutral as possible. Derek leaned forward slightly, taking a deep breath and then seeming to relax slightly, shaking his head at Scott who also seemed to relax.

“He knows?” Jackson said in shock, “Is that why you two are suddenly so friendly? What did you decide to spill our secrets to him just so you could have a friend? Did you not care about the friendship you destroyed along the way?” Jackson glared at Stiles and Danny glared back at Jackson.

“No he didn’t, so back off. I already knew about you, about all of you, it’s not like McCall ever speaks quietly, even about supernatural shit. He didn’t ruin our friendship Jackson, you did, you lied to me.” Danny replied, defending Stiles, Scott blushed brightly and Jackson looked shamefaced.

“So, I’ll say it again, what do you want?” Stiles said, glaring at Derek. 

Derek took a deep breath, Stiles looked amazing, he smelt even better, he didn’t smell like a wolf which made Derek relax slightly, but he could barely think, Stiles was right in front of him, looking better that Derek ever remembered and he smelt incredible and Derek’s wolf was almost howling out of control, he was struggling to stop himself from jumping Stiles right here and now, his claws were digging into his skin inside his clenched fists.

“Mr Stilinski!” A voice called out and they all turned to look as Harris approached them, “I want to speak to you. Now!” Harris shouted, waving a piece of paper in his hand, and Stiles rolled his eyes and glanced to Danny.

“Play nice.” He said before turning away to walk towards Harris, and holy mother of god, Derek wasn’t going to be able to stop himself from jumping Stiles, god his ass looked amazing in those jeans. He could feel the blood welling around his claws as he struggled to gain control and as if it wasn’t bad enough he knew the wolves could all smell his arousal if the way they were looking at him in complete shock was any indication and this Danny kid was smirking at him like he’d just won the lottery. 

“I know, right?” Erica grinned, “I think I’m in love with his ass alone.” Derek growled at her and her grin faded slightly. “Hey, be fair, it’s not like any of us knew you had a thing for guys.” 

“I don’t have a thing for guys.” Derek snarled.

“Oh, okay then, just one particular guy.” Isaac said.

“Leave it.” Derek growled.

“Can we just have one person who doesn’t spend their time staring at Stiles’ ass please!? We’re here to get his help, not perv on him!” Scott said in despair.

“And why should he help you?” Danny said viciously, he was pissed, these people didn’t deserve Stiles’ help. 

“Because I’m his best friend.” Scott shouted.

“Really?” Danny replied coldly, “You could have fooled me, best friends don’t do what you did, hell, even friends don’t do what you did.” 

“What did I do that was so bad?” Scott hissed, “Stiles is the one that walked out and won’t return any of my calls!” Danny just glared at him, if Scott couldn’t even see how what he did was so wrong, then there was no hope for him. 

“Look,” Lydia said calmly, glancing across at Derek who was still staring at Stiles, “Can we just talk about this calmly, we want to try and not tell the entire world about the supernatural.”

Danny however was looking at Derek who didn’t seem to be listening to the conversation at all, instead he looked to be staring at Stiles with a definite lust and Danny’s smirk grew wider, he turned to glance at Stiles who looked to be putting up with whatever Harris was ranting about. Derek was still staring at Stiles’ ass and Danny felt like being a little vindictive, god knows they all deserved it.

“Yeah he has got an amazing ass hasn’t he?” Danny said smirking and Derek glared at him, “You know, I was just going to fuck him because he’s hot and it would be fun, but you know what, knowing how badly you want it, that’s just going to make it even more fun for me.” Danny smirked, Scott looked revolted and Derek was just glaring at Danny like he wanted to tear his throat out. 

“Alright fine, whatever!” They all heard Stiles shout and Danny turned to glance again at him to see him coming back towards them.

“I’ll see you in detention tomorrow evening Mr Stilinski!” Harris called after him and Stiles nodded.

“Yeah, yeah.” Stiles said sarcastically, standing next to Danny. ‘Everything okay?’ He asked Danny mentally, he looked tense.

‘Just go with me on this one.’ Danny said and Stiles looked at him in confusion.

“Hey, so I was thinking, after try-outs, we should go out?” Danny asked and Stiles felt, if possible, even more confused, and why was everyone glaring at Danny?

“Erm, sure?” Stiles answered.

“Like on a date.” Danny continued and Stiles looked at him in shock. 

‘What the fuck dude?’ Stiles said mentally and Danny just continued to glare at the pack.

‘Just go with me on this, please.’

‘I assume you want me to say yes?’

‘Yes jackass.’ Danny replied and Stiles laughed.

“Erm, yeah, sure thing.” Stiles replied, looking at the rest of the pack with confusion. 

“Good, now, come on, we’ve got try-outs and then we can go on a date. Then I can get my hands on your ass.” Danny said and Stiles tried not to flinch at the thought.

‘I’m assuming you’re doing this to make Isaac jealous?’ Danny gave him a slight look that said Stiles was an idiot, ‘I think you should probably choose someone Isaac will actually be jealous of.’

Danny laughed out loud at that and they all looked a little confused.

“Sorry, just very happy you said yes so easily, I guess you want me just as much!” Danny joked and Stiles laughed, but the thought of touching Danny sexually made him feel a little queasy, he’d never look at Danny like that. 

“Dude, this is so gross.” Scott said and Stiles couldn’t help the slight smirk on his lips. “Look, obviously you’re not a wolf…”

“When was that even an option?” Stiles said in shock.

“Something’s different about you Stiles,” Scott insisted, “You won’t even talk to us, you act like you’re better than us…”

“He is.” Danny inserted and Stiles rolled his eyes. 

“Plus you were talking to those Alphas and then you just walked away from them. So I thought you might have joined them and I needed Derek to check it out.” 

“You thought I’d become a werewolf?” Stiles glared at Scott in shock. “Well, no I’m not a werewolf, I’m a human as you all very well know. Now, if you’ll excuse me, we have try-outs to get to.”

“We need your help.” Derek said, struggling to get his words out, he just wanted to tear Danny’s throat out, he wanted to be the one that Stiles was going on a date with. 

“My help with what?” Stiles said.

“Boys!” Another voice shouted and they turned to see coach glaring at them, tapping at his watch, “Try-outs! Locker room! Now!” 

“Can you come to the loft after try-outs?” Derek asked, “We can talk then?”

“Loft?” Stiles asked.

“Yeah,” Erica supplied, “No more abandoned building, we’ve got a proper pack house now.” Stiles was staring at Derek in confusion and Derek stared right back, he could get lost in Stiles’ eyes.

“We’ll come.” Danny replied for both of them, inviting himself along and giving nobody a chance to argue, “But not straight after try-outs, we’re going on a date.” Danny said, before linking arms with Stiles and leading him away, Jackson, Isaac, Boyd and Scott not far behind them. 

‘We’re going out to check the wards aren’t we? Not on a date?’ Stiles asked mentally.

‘Course. You know I wouldn’t actually want to date you right?’ 

‘Yeah I know.’ Stiles replied, ‘Just had to double check though. What happened while I was gone that you decided to do that?’

“What did Harris want?” Danny said changing the subject and ignoring the mental question from Stiles.

“Apparently he wasn’t impressed with the essay we did today; he thinks I cheated. Why the hell he thinks that I don’t know, but he’s put me in detention tomorrow night.”

“For what?” Danny said outraged.

“Cheating evidently. Although I really don’t know how the hell I could have cheated but he’s a jackass, there wasn’t any arguing with him.”

“He is a jackass.” Danny said in agreement as they walked into the locker rooms.

“Get changed and get out on the field!” Coach shouted. 

They got changed quickly, Stiles leaving his long sleeved t-shirt on to keep his tattoos covered, and then headed out to the field. It became quickly evident to everyone on the pitch just how much Stiles had improved, he was always in the right place at the right time, scoring goals and stopping the other team from getting past him. He managed to dodge around all the werewolves, leaving them stuck in place at his agility, Danny couldn’t keep the grin from his face at the complete look of shock on their faces.

Coach seemed to be transfixed with Stiles’ ability, his eyes lighting up like he’d just won the jackpot. By the end of try-outs everyone was exhausted, Stiles was panting, but not as heavily as he had done the previous year and Danny was absolutely drenched in sweat. 

“Alright,” Coach said gruffly, “Hit the showers, I’ll put the team up on the board tomorrow.”

“Great game Stiles!” Matt said, clapping Stiles on the shoulder, Danny could see Stiles grit his teeth at the contact and quickly shoved his way between the two of them. 

“Only because you had him on your team.” Danny joked and Matt laughed.

Stiles grabbed his bag and headed out to his jeep, saying to Danny that he’d go grab a shower at home and then they could go out, he didn’t miss Isaac glaring at them, but he couldn’t bring himself to flirt with Danny, instead he smiled happily and darted out of the changing room. He rushed up to his room, gave Brimmy a quick pat before throwing on a clean t-shirt and a hoodie and stashing several knives in his pockets.

The hunt for whatever had crossed his wards didn’t result in anything, there was nothing around by the time they got there and Danny could tell Stiles was frustrated, it was the first time that something had gotten knowingly through his wards and he hadn’t caught it. 

“Okay, well, we can go spar at yours? Or we can head over to Derek’s loft earlier if you like?” Danny said and Stiles glared at the ground, obviously indecisive.

“No, if we head over earlier then Isaac will think the date went badly, and I assume you want him to think it went well?” Stiles replied.

“Yeah I do.” Danny said, unable to believe that Stiles hadn’t realized yet that he wasn’t doing it for Isaac’s benefit but for Derek’s. Stiles might actually be the most oblivious person he’d ever met. 

“Alright, well, let’s head back to mine then, we can spar for a bit, then we’ll head over?” 

“Sounds good to me.” Danny replied.

They spent a couple of hours sparring, Danny managing to successfully block most of Stiles’ blows, although he knew that Stiles was taking it easy on him. Stiles showed him a new bit of magic he’d been working on, getting his knives to fly exactly where he wanted them to, Danny had to admit it was pretty damn impressive and Stiles even got a few of the knives to work for Danny too.

Brimmy launched himself at them from the sky and Danny and Stiles spent half an hour or so just dodging his attacks before Stiles finally called it quits, Danny was barely able to catch his breath by that point. By the time they decided to head over to the loft they were both feeling better about the day’s events, although they were both still tense, unsure as to what the pack wanted, Stiles had two knives stashed at the back of his jeans, two more at his wrists and a final one in his pocket, just in case the pack was in imminent danger. 

“You sure about this?” Danny asked as they got out of the jeep, “You don’t have to help them.” He didn’t want to see Stiles get hurt again. 

“I’m sure.” Stiles said, squaring his shoulders and marching into the building.


	5. Chapter 5

They got to the loft pretty quickly and Danny looked around the room, everyone was here except for Allison, including who he assumed was Peter and an older man with a small spark, almost non-existent compared to Stiles’, that could only be Deaton. 

“Hey,” Derek said in greeting, his eyes still raking over Stiles’ form, Cora had been the only one to pull him up on his behaviour earlier, asking him why he hadn’t told her that he’d found his mate, so he’d ended up explaining the whole story to her, how he hadn’t wanted it to be true and then when he thought it could be, Stiles had betrayed him, or so he thought, and now he’d just made a mess of the whole thing. She’d comforted him, while also telling him that he was an idiot, and then promised not to mention anything to the others, but that he would have to do something about it sooner rather than later.

“How was your date?” Isaac asked quickly and Danny and Stiles glanced at each other for a moment before nodding.

“Yeah, it was good.” Danny said, taking and holding onto Stiles’ hand tightly, Derek tried not to growl. 

“So,” Stiles said, seemingly ignoring most of the people in the room and assessing the loft, “What do you need?” 

“Sorry!” Allison called as she opened the door, rushing through it quickly, “I’ve got major news!” She started and then caught sight of Danny and Stiles, “Oh, hey guys, I didn’t think you’d be here yet, how was the date?”

“Great.” Danny repeated, “In fact, we’d really like to get back to where we left off so if we can hurry this along that would be great.” He said.

Stiles thought that Scott looked a little revolted, Peter looked amused and Derek looked a little constipated.

“Well,” Deaton said speaking loudly and Stiles was surprised by that, he would have thought that Derek would be the one explaining, but he kept silent and let Deaton continue. “As you are probably aware by now, an Alpha pack has moved into the area.”

“Yeah we know.” Danny supplied.

“The Alpha pack has made its intentions perfectly clear, which was to kill this pack and then add Derek to their pack.” Deaton explained, Stiles wouldn’t let that happen, not ever, nobody would kill this pack, not if he could help it.

“Was?” Danny asked.

“Yes, you see, what you probably aren’t aware of is the fact that a mage moved to the area just before the summer,” Danny’s grip tightened on his hand, “And Deucalion, the Alpha of their pack, sensed the mages magic a few nights ago, because of this, he’s agreed to let the pack live, on the condition that they help him track down the mage.”

Stiles’ mind was racing, how the hell could a werewolf have sensed his magic?

“And you plan to hand the mage over to the Alpha pack?” Danny said with disgust. 

“We don’t have any other options.” Deaton continued, “This mage is highly skilled and powerful, we couldn’t control him, and the Alpha pack will eventually kill this pack if they do not get the mage.”

“Have you thought about just asking the guy for help?” Danny asked condescendingly.

“He’s too dangerous.” Deaton said, “If he refused, he could kill us all.”

“So your plan instead is to what? Kidnap him somehow and pass him over to the Alpha pack? Like that won’t piss him off!? Are you an idiot?”

“Actually, I’m far more aware of how magic works than you witch!” Deaton snarled, there was silence for a moment.

“You’re a witch?” Jackson said in shock, looking at Danny like he was seeing him for the first time.

“I told you I knew about all this stuff before I started hanging out with Stiles.” Danny retorted.

“Stiles doesn’t seem surprised; I guess he knew?” Jackson replied.

“Of course he knew. He actually wanted to spend time with me over the summer, which is more than I can say for you!” Danny shouted.

“Only because he wants to fuck you!” Jackson screamed back. 

“Enough!” Derek roared and the room fell into silence. 

“How do you expect me to help you find this mage?” Stiles said a moment later and Derek looked at him gratefully, glad that Stiles was still willing to help them. 

“Deaton says that he’s moved to the area recently and the level of his power would put him around mid-forties.” Derek explained.

“Deaton’s an idiot.” Danny muttered and Stiles smirked slightly.

“We were hoping you could log into your dad’s system, see if anyone matched that description, narrow down the search a bit?” Derek continued as if Danny hadn’t spoken, he knew he’d said the wrong thing, Stiles looked at him angrily.

“Weird that all summer I haven’t had to lie or deceive my dad, but that’s the first thing you ask me to do.” Stiles snapped and Derek grimaced.

“I didn’t mean…”

“Yes you did.” Stiles retorted. “It doesn’t matter.” He sighed sadly. 

“We’re not helping you capture the mage.” Danny said firmly. 

“If we don’t hand him over then the Alpha pack will kill us.” Erica said, “It’s only a matter of time.” 

Danny glanced at Stiles, he could see that Stiles was trying to think of a way out of this and he knew that Stiles was only going to reach one conclusion.

‘We’re not telling them.’ He said quickly and Stiles glanced at him.

‘Why not?’

‘Because, Stiles, if they know it’s you, what’s to stop them handing you over to the Alpha pack anyway?’

‘They wouldn’t do that to me.’

‘Like Scott wouldn’t let Gerard hurt you?’ Danny asked, he knew it was below the belt, but he had to protect Stiles, ‘You want to go after the Alpha pack, we can do, but we can’t tell them, we can’t trust that they’ll protect you.’

“I know.” Stiles muttered out loud.

“You know what?” Isaac asked, looking at them in confusion, Stiles floundered for a moment before squaring his shoulders. 

“I know that the Alpha pack will kill you.” Stiles said firmly, “And I’ll do whatever I can to help stop that, but I’m not going to let you hand the mage over to the Alpha pack, I won’t do that.”

“And how exactly are you going to help us?” Jackson sneered, “Hey, maybe you can go try and reason with them, and when they kill you for talking so much you’ll realise what you’re dealing with, at least then we won’t have to listen to you complain all the time.”

“Actually,” Allison interrupted, “We might have a bigger problem than the Alpha pack right now.”

“What?” The whole room turned to look at her. 

“My dad got a call from an old friend earlier, he’s still in the hunting business, and he heard, well, I don’t know if it’s true, but apparently Gerard is on his way back here, some of his men went missing a few weeks ago and I don’t know what happened to make him decide to come back here, but he’s on his way.”

Danny turned to Stiles panicked, Stiles had gone as white as a sheet and the way the whole pack turned to look at him Danny could only guess that his heart was racing.

“Stiles,” He said firmly, forcing Stiles to look directly at him, “Breathe.” Derek moved towards them, looking at Stiles with worry and Danny shoved a hand out to stop him from getting anywhere near Stiles, “Don’t touch him.” He snarled at Derek, Stiles couldn’t have a full blown panic attack here, if his magic protected him here then they would all know exactly how powerful Stiles was, plus the fact that the lightning dome would probably kill them all.

“I’m fine.” Stiles said automatically, trying to reassure Danny that he wasn’t as close to losing it as he felt he was, his voice was a bit shaky but he tried to ignore that. ‘He’s what came through my wards earlier.’ He told Danny and Danny looked at him in shock.

“Alright, we’re leaving.” He said out loud, grabbing his jacket and directing Stiles towards the door without touching him, knowing that would only send him closer to the edge, Derek blocked his path.

“What’s going on?” Derek said angrily.

“I just told you, we’re leaving.” Danny said, positioning himself between Stiles and Derek, he went to push past him when all the wolves turned towards the door and Danny somehow just knew it was too late.

The door swung open and there was Gerard, four men at his sides carrying guns, black goo still dripping from his nose and mouth, a wide smirk on his lips at the unprepared pack in front of him.

Danny pushed Stiles slightly behind him, making sure that he was blocked from Gerard’s view. He was panicking, he had to protect Stiles. He felt Stiles behind him, his hand resting lightly on his and Danny relaxed slightly, Stiles had this, he was in control, he would be fine.

“So good to see you all!” Gerard said, “Feel free to shoot anyone who moves.” He added to his men as he extended his arms wide, “Although,” He looked at Erica and Boyd, “I had expected there to be less of you, instead you seem to be breeding,” He eyed Cora and Danny distastefully, then his eyes moved back to Danny, to something just behind him, “Oh, Mr Stilinski, I am very surprised to see you here.” Gerard said, a grin on his lips, Danny felt Stiles tense behind him.

“What are you doing here Gerard?” Allison said and he glanced across at her.

“I really thought you’d have learnt by now Allison, these are monsters, associate with them and you will die.”

“And yet you turned yourself into one.” Peter smirked.

“Ah, well, we all make mistakes, although without the help of Mr McCall I’m sure it wouldn’t have happened quite this way.” They all grimaced at that, being reminded that Scott had helped Gerard wasn’t pleasant. Gerard moved towards Danny, assessing him, trying to figure out where he fit into all of this. Stiles wasn’t going to let him lay a finger on Danny, instead he pushed past Danny, pulled him behind him to protect him as best he could and instead faced Gerard with an icy glare. 

“You know, I really am surprised to see you here, I thought after our last conversation that I wouldn’t be seeing you again.” Gerard said and Stiles shrugged.

“I’m like a cockroach, harder to get rid of than you think.” Stiles replied, he hoped his voice sounded confident and in control and not as scared as he felt. 

“I very much enjoyed our time together Stiles, it would be fun to do it again sometime soon.” Gerard taunted.

“You were working with Gerard?” Scott asked in shock and Danny glared at him.

“No Scott, you’re the only one stupid enough and cruel enough to do that.” Danny snarled and Stiles touched his arm to tell him to calm down. 

“Oh,” Gerard said in surprise, “They don’t know do they?” He asked Stiles.

“Know what?” Lydia asked, Stiles glanced across to Scott who was looking at him in confusion.

“Oh, I may have been working with Mr McCall, but that doesn’t mean I told him everything.” Gerard explained after catching Stiles’ look and Stiles glared at him, “But, I’m still confused, if you didn’t tell them, then how did you explain…” Stiles gritted his teeth as Gerard waved a hand at his body and then watched as his eyes went comically wide and he laughed loudly, “They don’t know anything do they?” Gerard laughed louder. “This is priceless.”

“Is someone going to explain what is going on?” Jackson said.

“It seems I underestimated you.” Gerard said to Stiles before turning his attention to the rest of the room. “Although I’m curious how nobody noticed, I mean, werewolves are supposed to have heightened senses aren’t they? It’s how I located your little loft here and I’m not ever a proper monster.” 

“What’s your point?” Peter asked.

“What do you think happened the night I was bitten?” Gerard asked the room.

“You got Jackson to stab himself on the pitch,” Lydia supplied a moment later, “That way he could turn into an Alpha kanima, he’d be harder to kill, you’d still have control over him, you could use him to threaten us, to kill us.”

“Yes, and?” Gerard said amused that the pack had been this oblivious.

“You were working with Scott,” Isaac added, “We all went to the warehouse, Jackson paralyzed Derek and then Scott used Derek to bite you.”

“And?” Gerard continued.

“You had kidnapped us, tortured us,” Erica said, “And then you injected us with something and we passed out.” 

“Good, I’m glad you remember that, it was fun wasn’t it?” He taunted and Erica growled. “Anything else?” The room was silent, “Where was Stiles?” He asked eventually.

“He got spooked when the lights went out on the pitch. He ran off.” Jackson supplied, his tone of voice showing Stiles just how little he thought of him.

“You let them believe that?” Gerard snorted and Stiles shrugged.

“Didn’t make any difference.” Stiles supplied, trying to sound as casual as possible.

“What happened?” Derek growled and Stiles refused to meet his eyes.

“Oh, please, let me tell them.” Gerard smirked as Stiles glared at him in silence, “You see, while you were all running around after Jackson, trying to figure out who exactly what had happened on the pitch and how to save him, I had some of my men grab Stiles.” Gerard taunted and the whole pack turned to look at him in surprise, “You see, I made the mistake of thinking that your pet human would break easier than your wolves, I mean they’d already told me about the pack, who was in it, but I wanted more than that, I wanted to know everything about you. So I took Stiles.” It was so silent in the room that you could have heard a pin drop and Stiles was glaring at the floor like it personally offended him. “How long did we torture you for again? I lost track?”

“So did I.” Stiles replied sarcastically, “It was very boring.” Gerard let out a small chuckle.

“You see, I did enjoy that, always the witty retort, even when you’d spent the past hour screaming in pain you still came up with a clever response. So convinced that you could hold out because the pack was coming for you, that they’d save you, and all that time, none of them even noticed you were missing, none of them even looked for you while we were torturing you.” Gerard smirked, Derek growled and moved towards Gerard when a gun went off and he stopped in his tracks, a bullet hole in the ground by his feet. “Oh, does that upset you Alpha?” Gerard taunted, “That we tortured your little human here for hours, that we hit him and kicked him, burnt him, electrocuted him, whipped him, cut him and still he refused to say a word about your pack. I wonder if all those injuries have healed now? If they’ve just left behind scars? Or are some of them still barely healed, could still be reopened with only a little bit of work?” He teased and Stiles gritted his teeth, his jaw clenched tightly, Gerard studied Stiles for a moment before continuing, “You know, George said that the best part of the whole night was licking the blood and sweat from your skin.” He smirked when Stiles flinched at the mention of George. “Did he manage to have some fun with you at least?” Stiles flinched again and Gerard laughed, the rest of the pack staring at Stiles in a new light, unable to believe that he’d gone through that.

“Stiles,” Scott sobbed, “I didn’t know, I didn’t know. I wouldn’t have done that to you.” He repeated, unable to believe that Stiles would think he could do that to him. 

“It doesn’t matter.” Stiles said, assessing the room, trying to figure a way out of this, ‘Danny, knives in the back of my trousers, they’re enchanted.’ 

‘What are we doing?’ Danny asked in confusion, reaching forwards slowly so he didn’t draw attention to himself and slipping his hands under the back of Stiles’ hoodie. 

‘I’ll distract Gerard, you take the two on the left, I take the two on the right.’

‘Kill?’ Danny asked, he wanted them dead, would happily throw the knives at their faces.

‘No, aim for their hands, that’ll stop them from firing the guns.’ Stiles ordered, ‘I’ll let you know when.’ He said and Danny agreed.

“What I’m very curious about though,” Gerard continued as though Scott hadn’t spoken, “Is that if nobody knew you were out there, it wasn’t your pack that killed my men, then really, Stiles, you were the last one to see them alive, so why don’t you tell me what happened to my men?”

“Why don’t you go to hell?” Stiles supplied, Gerard smile fell slightly.

“You see, Stiles, what you fail to understand is that you’re just as defenceless as you were when I tortured you, you might not be chained up right now, but you can’t do anything to stop me, I can do whatever I like and there’s nothing you can do to stop me, if I feel like putting a bullet in your best friends head you can’t do anything about it, you’re weak, you always have been and you always will be, so why don’t you tell me what you know about my men and I’ll consider letting you all go.” Gerard said viciously and Stiles gritted his teeth.

‘You ready?’ He said to Danny.

‘Yeah.’ 

“Now.” Stiles said, pulling out the knives at his wrists and launching them at the men on the right, feeling the magic direct them exactly where he wanted them to go, hearing the impact, feeling Danny do the same, he pulled the last, slightly larger, knife from the side of his jeans and pressed it tight to Gerard’s throat, saw the blade cut slightly into his skin and he glared at Gerard. 

The rest of the room was in shock, too surprised at the sudden turn of events to have processed it all, one moment Gerard had been threatening them and the next his men were on the floor cradling their hands and crying out in pain and Stiles had a knife to Gerard’s throat. 

“You’re wrong. I’m not nearly as defenceless as I was. You want to know what happened to your men?” Stiles growled, “I happened to them. I killed them.” He said coldly, not caring about the way the pack would be looking at him, just caring about Gerard, watching the realization dawn in his eyes.

“You didn’t.” Gerard insisted, his voice cracking slightly with disbelief.

“Oh, but I did.” Stiles taunted, “I know how the Argents have a habit of setting people on fire while they’re still alive, I decided to return the favour.”

“You’re lying.” Gerard argued.

“They screamed,” Stiles continued as if Gerard hadn’t spoken, “They begged for mercy, they cried, they begged for me to end it, and I didn’t. I set them on fire and I watched them burn.” Stiles finished, Danny shivered, Stiles sounded vicious, violent, deadly, dangerous. “That’s twice you’ve underestimated me.” Stiles said, “Don’t make the mistake of doing it again. Now get out, before I decide to kill you too.” Stiles said, pulling the knife from Gerard’s throat and shoving him towards the door, his men stumbling to their feet and following him quickly out of the door. 

Stiles sagged in relief as soon as the door closed but his relief was only for a moment.

“You murdered someone?” Scott asked and Stiles felt his heart shatter slightly.

“Four someone’s actually.” He said and even to him his voice sounded detached and cold. He headed towards the door without a backwards glance, knowing that Danny wouldn’t be far behind him but just needing to get out, to get away from their stares, knowing they’d be looking at him like the monster he was.

Danny had moved to grab the knives when he heard Scott say those dreaded words, knew that Stiles would take them to heart, watched helplessly as Stiles face became devoid of any emotion and he left the loft. Derek went to move after Stiles but Danny got to the door first.

“Don’t you dare.” Danny threatened, glaring at each member of the pack individually. “You don’t deserve a friend like Stiles, none of you do.” There was more silence, “Do you know why he killed them? Why they had to die? Because they were going to kill Erica and Boyd. Because George thought it would be fun to kill them while Stiles watched and then use their blood as lube, because it wasn’t just about killing Stiles, it wasn’t just about torturing him, it was about taking everything from him. He killed them to protect his friends. And what kind of friends are you!?” Danny hissed angrily, “You didn’t even notice the fact that he nearly bled to death, that if my gran hadn’t found him when she did then he would have died from his injuries, and not one of you noticed! So don’t you dare call him a murderer! Don’t you dare for one second think that you’re better than him. He had no choice in the matter, no choice in it at all, if any single one of you were in the same position I hope that you would have done the exact same thing.” Danny ranted, “He saved your lives, then he went and got Lydia so she could save Jackson and then you told him he was out of the pack and Scott had been working with Gerard and that he was worthless, that anyone could have done it. Stiles killed for you, to protect you, and I think it was the worst mistake he’s ever made. None of you are worth killing for.” Danny finished before turning on his heel and marching out of the loft, he’d never felt so angry in all of his life, all the hard work he’d put in over the summer, all the times he’d tried to convince Stiles that he wasn’t a murderer and Scott had destroyed that with a single sentence. 

Stiles was sat on the flights of steps just below the loft and Danny sunk down on the step next to him.

“Do you think he believed me?” Stiles whispered, his voice sounding off, like he was in shock, “About setting them on fire?”

“I believed you and I know that’s not what happened.” Danny said, still a little in shock at how dangerous Stiles had sounded. “Come on, let’s get you home.” 

“I’m fine.” Stiles insisted, standing up and walking down the stairs slowly, his mind was reeling, they knew, they all knew, he was a murderer and they knew that now. 

“I’m going to stay over tonight.” Danny said, it wasn’t the first time Danny had stopped over during the summer and he knew Stiles would need the support tonight. 

“I’m fine.” Stiles repeated.

“Still staying over.” Danny said, smiling slightly as Stiles grimaced sarcastically.

Noah was home when they got back and he knew instantly that something was wrong, by the time Danny and Stiles had explained what had happened he’d gone an odd shade of red.

“Scott said what!?” He hissed angrily and Stiles stared at the drink in front of him.

“He just said what they were all thinking.” Stiles said sadly, “And really, I think we should all just be happy that Scott didn’t know what Gerard had planned. He didn’t hand me over to him.”

“You are not a murderer Stiles!” Noah shouted, “And anyone who says otherwise is wrong!”

There was silence for a few minutes before Stiles slid off his chair.

“It’s been a really long day; I think I need to go to bed.” Stiles sighed, Danny getting out of his seat and following Stiles up the stairs. “I don’t need you to babysit me.” Stiles said.

“I’m not.” Danny insisted, “Have you thought that I might need the company just as much you do?” Danny smiled and Stiles smirked.

Brimmy was waiting for them in his room, curled up on the pillow, his eyes cracking open slightly when they entered and then closing again when he saw it was them. Danny stripped down to his boxers and jumped into Stiles’ bed while Stiles just raised an eyebrow at him, Danny laughed gently and patted the bed next to him. Stiles took off his jeans and his hoodie, leaving his t-shirt on, and climbing into the bed next to Danny and Brimmy.

“Still don’t fancy you.” Stiles mumbled before rolling over and going to sleep to the sound of Danny’s soft laughter.

Derek’s whole world had turned upside down in the past twenty-four hours, he’d spent the summer believing Stiles had betrayed him and then he’d found out that he hadn’t, that Stiles had instead spent hours being tortured by Gerard and his goons and that Stiles had then had to kill them to survive, and after all of that, if Danny was to be believed, Stiles had still nearly bled to death and Derek hadn’t even noticed.

He’d watched in mute horror as Gerard had taunted Stiles, and when he’d tried to intervene one of the men had shot at his feet, keeping him in place. Then suddenly Danny and Stiles were moving as one, throwing knives easily, hitting their targets with ease, Derek had watched in awe, at first, he’d been a little jealous, seeing Danny slipping his hand under Stiles’ hoodie, but then he was pulling knives and so was Stiles and the men were falling to the floor and Stiles had a knife to Gerard’s neck. Derek couldn’t help but be aroused, Stiles sounded dangerous, he sounded deadly and Derek knew he should probably be afraid, should probably be angry and attack Gerard, but instead, seeing Stiles hold his own, seeing him threaten Gerard so easily, to attack and defend them with such force, it made him want Stiles even more. 

But then Scott had messed up, called Stiles a murderer, and he was gone, and before Derek could go after him, before he could try to fix this, Danny was blocking him, telling him exactly how close they’d come to losing Stiles and Derek could only stare at him numbly. Stiles had been tortured for information on them and he hadn’t given it up, and what had Derek done for him in return? Called him manipulative, deceitful, kicked him out of the pack, told him he couldn’t rely on him. Danny was right, Derek didn’t deserve Stiles. 

He moved to follow Danny, to talk to Stiles, to tell him how sorry he was, but then he heard them talking, heard Stiles asking if he thought Gerard believed him and Derek felt his heart breaking slightly at the sound of defeat in Stiles’ tone. He couldn’t help but growl slightly when Danny insisted on staying at Stiles’ but he knew that Stiles needed it and he wanted to thank Danny for looking after him when Derek had failed so miserably. 

“I like him.” Cora said from next to Derek. 

“Who?” Derek said, not really listening to her, his thoughts still with Stiles.

“Stiles.” Cora said, “I like him, he’s badass, did you see him with those knives?” Derek nodded. 

“They moved like a team.” Peter said from his other side, “They didn’t even need to communicate to know what to do. They’re good together.”

“Yeah,” Derek sighed sadly, perhaps this was what he deserved, to finally admit Stiles was his mate, but to have to watch him find happiness with someone else, “Something’s bothering me though,” He said, “Stiles just asked Danny if he thought Gerard believed him about setting them on fire.” 

“So?” Erica asked from near the far wall.

“Well, it sounded like Stiles didn’t set them on fire, maybe he didn’t kill them?”

“He killed them.” Scott said harshly, “Danny admitted that Stiles killed them. Just because he might have lied about how he did it doesn’t mean he didn’t kill them. That he didn’t murder them.”

“Did you not hear a word Danny just said!?” Lydia said outraged. 

“He admitted Stiles murdered those men!” Scott shouted.

“He admitted that Stiles killed them in self-defence!” Lydia screamed, “Or would you have preferred that he let them kill Erica and Boyd? Let them kill him? After they’d raped him of course!” Lydia said angrily, “He protected the pack, which is more than you’ve ever done! You’ve only ever protected your mum and Allison and if it wasn’t for Stiles Gerard probably would have killed them anyway! So why don’t you stop thinking that you’re perfect Scott! Because you’re not! And if you’d have been any kind of friend to Stiles in the first place then he wouldn’t have been in that position!” There was silence in the room, Scott staring at Lydia like she’d just kicked a puppy and Lydia glaring at him like she might decide to set him on fire. 

“Well, if anyone wants my opinion, I’m glad they’re dead rather than Erica.” Boyd said and Erica smiled lovingly at him. 

“Me too.” Erica added.

“Like I need to even say it.” Peter said rolling his eyes, “Four dead hunters is a blessing in my eyes.” 

“Even I’m thinking Stilinski did the right thing.” Jackson said.

“He murdered four people!” Scott insisted.

“What else could he have done Scott?” Derek asked, “He obviously had the opportunity to kill them, it might have been the only chance he had, if he’d waited, if he’d have tried something else, it might not have worked. Stiles doesn’t have our powers, he couldn’t have fought them off, he’s human Scott. He can’t defend himself like we can, he had a chance and he took it and it saved his life, saved Erica’s, saved Boyd’s.” Derek felt sick, Stiles had nearly died, Stiles had been tortured and nearly died and Derek had done nothing to help him.

“It doesn’t mean it was right.” Scott argued.

“Well, we’ll just agree to disagree on that one.” Lydia snarled.

“Scott,” Deaton said calmly, “I think the rest of the pack might be right on this one.” 

“What?” Scott said, looking at him incredulously.

“Don’t think about Stiles murdering them, just try and put yourself in his shoes. If you didn’t have your werewolf powers,” Deaton advised, “If you were completely human, no super strength, no super healing, you’ve spent the past few hours being tortured, you’re bleeding and in pain and four men are threatening the lives of your friends, right in front of your very eyes. You can’t fight your way out of it, what are your options? What can you do? Can you reason with them?” He asked.

Scott stood staring at Deaton like he’d never seen him before. 

“Except you can’t reason with them, because they’re insane, they’ve tortured you, they’re not going to let you go now just because you ask them nicely. So what are your other options? You can fight, except you are a sixteen-year-old injured child against four grown men who are trained with weapons. You wouldn’t last a minute.”

Scott was glaring at the ground now, beginning to realize what a huge mistake he had made. 

“So you do whatever necessary, to protect yourself, to protect your friends.” Deaton said, “And if you have to kill to do that, if that’s the only option you have, the only way you have any chance of making it through the night, isn’t that exactly what you would do?” 

“If I absolutely had to.” Scott said quietly and Deaton nodded. 

“Well, Stiles absolutely had to.” Deaton insisted and Scott nodded in agreement. 

“I’ve made a huge mistake.” Scott said, turning to leave, he needed to see Stiles, needed to fix this. “I need to see him, apologize for what I said.” 

“Now’s not the time.” Lydia said and the rest of the room turned to look at her, “It’s become apparent that Stiles has dealt with a lot of stuff. Stuff that he’s dealt with without any of us. Deciding to turn up at his house in the middle of the night and announce that we’re here for him now, it’s not the right move.” 

“So what do you suggest?” Derek asked.

“I think we wait, we try to talk to him tomorrow, we explain that we’re here for him, if he wants to talk and that he made the right choice, that we support him every step of the way.” Lydia supplied. 

“What about the mage and the Alpha pack?” Isaac said, “We still need Stiles to try and narrow it down.”

“And he’ll help.” Lydia insisted, “He came to help tonight, even when he still believed that Scott had basically handed him over to Gerard. Now he knows that isn’t how it happened, he’ll be more willing to help. I’m sure. We just need to give him some time.” 

“I wouldn’t advise too much time Miss Martin.” Deaton said, “The Alpha pack are not known for their patience.”

Stiles woke the next morning to the sound of Danny leaving the bedroom. 

“Get up or we’ll be late!” Danny called from the doorway as he disappeared towards the bathroom. Stiles groaned and rolled over, snuggling up to the warmth that Brimmy provided, nothing made a bed harder to leave than having a dragons’ heat surrounding you. “Stiles!” Danny shouted again a few minutes later when Stiles still hadn’t moved, “Get your ass out of bed!” Stiles moaned, throwing his hands up dramatically, when Danny pulled the covers from him and ordered him out of the bed.

“You’re such a slave driver!” Stiles muttered murderously as he moved towards the bathroom, throwing off his old clothes and jumping in the shower. He spent a good ten minutes just letting the water flow across his body, he thought back to the night before, to Gerard taunting him, his fingers running over the raised scar at his hip, the look on Scott’s face last night when he found out that Stiles murdered those men. 

He threw on some clothes, this time a white long sleeve t-shirt instead and headed downstairs for breakfast. Danny and his dad were already down there, waiting to talk to him, he was so grateful for telepathic communication, it meant they could still talk even while he wolfed down his breakfast, he didn’t think he’d ever get used to how good food tasted now. 

His dad was worried about how Stiles was handling what had been said the night before but Stiles brushed it off, said he was fine, it didn’t make any difference, the only difference was that now they knew what Stiles had done. 

“Just, if Scott says anything like that again,” Noah sighed, “Just, punch him in the face for me.” Stiles chuckled.

“I’m not punching him dad. He can think whatever he likes.” Stiles replied. 

“I’ll punch him.” Danny said and both Stiles and Noah laughed. 

“Alright,” Noah clapped Stiles on the shoulder, “I’m going to work, if you need me, at all, then just let me know.” Stiles nodded, “Okay, have fun at school boys.” Noah called, heading out of the door. 

Stiles and Danny headed into school together, pausing slightly when they saw the whole pack waiting for them by the benches. 

‘Ignore them.’ Danny said and Stiles raised an eyebrow.

‘How would you like to do that? They’re already heading this way.’ 

‘The twins are looking at you too.’ Danny added and Stiles grinned wickedly.

‘Alright then, new plan.’ Stiles said, grabbing Danny by the arm and steering him towards the twins away from the Hale pack. 

‘What is the plan exactly?’ Danny said nervously.

‘You’ll see.’ Stiles said, coming to a stop in front of the twins.

“So how do Alpha’s work in a pack together? Just out of curiosity?”

“What?” One of the twins said, obviously not used to Stiles’ direct approach.

“I’m just trying to make sense of it, because, like, as I understand it, an Alpha is the leader of the pack, so, how does it work? Because surely you can’t all lead the pack?”

“Of course not, we have an Alpha still.”

“He must be pretty special, what’s he like?” Stiles asked. “Like, to control Alpha’s, he must have some serious abilities, am I right?” Stiles glanced across to see the Hale pack heading into the school and focused his attention back on the twins. 

“He’s our Alpha.” 

“Which means what? That you follow him blindly, without question? Because I’ve got to be honest, if this mage is as powerful as he sounds, the second your pack tries to control him, he’s going to tear you apart, but obviously you haven’t thought of that. Your Alpha is going to get you all killed.” Stiles hissed and watched as both of the twins paled slightly, before he grabbed hold of Danny’s arm and pulled him into the school.

‘I don’t think they’d thought of that one.’ Danny said

‘Well, they don’t seem like the brightest sparks in the box.’ 

‘Hot though.’ Danny said reasonably and Stiles burst into laughter.

“Yeah, there’s that.” Stiles said, heading to his first class and hoping today would go better than yesterday. 

He ignored all attempts to talk to him from the pack, he knew he wouldn’t be able to handle what they would say to him, what they would call him. When Scott sat down next to him in one of his classes he actually got up and moved seats, choosing instead to sit next to one of the twins, and ignored the way that Scott stared after him.

By lunchtime he was on edge and there was no way in hell that he was going to the cafeteria where he knew the pack would no doubt confront him. Instead he turned to head towards the woods, but was stopped by Ms Blake. 

“It’s Mr Stilinski isn’t it?” She asked and Stiles nodded, looking at the slightly dark glow near her chest. “You’ve got quite a spark.” She said and Stiles gaped at her. “What have you managed to do so far?” Stiles shrugged.

“Not much really, I mean, I managed to complete a circle of mountain ash, there was about thirty foot left and I finished it with a handful of ash.” Stiles said, hoping that it would satisfy her curiosity, “Why? Do you think I’ll be able to do more?” Stiles asked innocently and Ms Blake studied him for a moment before sighing.

“It’s unlikely that you will be able to do anything else Mr Stilinski.” She said condescendingly. 

“Oh.” Stiles said sadly, “Well, I guess I kind of expected that.” Ms Blake nodded, seemingly satisfied, before turning on her heel and heading back to the school.

“Bitch.” Stiles muttered under his breath as he headed out towards the woods.

‘Where are you?’ Danny asked a few minutes later and Stiles let him see what he was seeing, the way the sun was filtering through the leaves above him, he was quite peaceful in the woods, it was quiet and calm, and Stiles needed the peace. ‘Want me to come see you?’ Danny asked, ‘Or are you okay?’

‘I’m alright, don’t worry about it.’ Stiles replied.

Danny had been in the cafeteria about ten minutes when he contacted Stiles, he was glad Stiles seemed relaxed, he had another few minutes of peace before Lydia and Jackson sat down at the table opposite him and glared at him.

“Where’s Stiles?” Lydia said.

“I’m not his keeper.” Danny replied.

“I want to talk to him. He ignored me in class earlier.”

“And that’s my problem how?” 

“Look,” Jackson sighed, “We need to apologize to him.” That brought Danny up short, Jackson didn’t apologize to anyone. “We were too harsh on him.” 

“No shit.” Danny said sarcastically. 

“Do you know where he is or not?” Lydia said and Danny smirked.

“Yes I know where he is, no I’m not telling you.” Danny said, getting up from his seat and walking across the cafeteria, ignoring the looks from the rest of the pack. 

The afternoon passed slowly and Stiles was complaining constantly about what a jackass Harris was, Danny loved telepathic communication, they spent most of the class just communicating, talking about what they wanted to practice later when they were sparring, the bell couldn’t come soon enough.

“Mr Stilinski!” Harris called as Stiles went to leave his seat, “Detention remember?” Stiles groaned and sunk back into his seat. 

“Tough break.” Danny said. ‘Still want to spar later?’ Stiles nodded. ‘Alright, let me know when you get out.’ 

Danny walked to the car park slowly, seeing the pack waiting by Stiles’ jeep annoyed him no end. 

“He’s in detention. You might as well go home.” Danny said. 

“We,” Scott started, “I, I fucked up man. I shouldn’t have ever doubted Stiles, I made a mess and I need to fix it.”

“You should talk to Stiles then, not me.”

“I’ve tried; he won’t even look at me.” Scott said sadly. 

‘Dude, something weird just happened.’ Stiles said and Danny pulled out his phone to make it look like he was texting.

‘Weird like what?’

‘I don’t know, something’s blocking one of my wards.’ Stiles replied.

‘I’m with the pack at the moment.’ Danny informed him. ‘Scott wants to talk to you.’ Stiles groaned and Danny smiled slightly at his response. 

‘You think the pack knows anything about what happened to my ward?’ Stiles said slowly and Danny glanced up at the pack who were staring at him waiting for him to get off his phone and talk to them. 

‘I can go and ask Derek, I don’t think it’s likely, but if you want me to?’

‘Yeah,’ Stiles said slowly, ‘You head over there and tell them I’ll come over later, there’s only like twenty minutes of detention left, then I’ll head out there.’

‘You’re going to check the ward by yourself?’ Danny said nervously.

‘I’ll call home, grab Brimmy, check it out, then I’ll come to the loft, you just find out what you can from them.’

‘I’m not sure about it Stiles, what if it’s something bad?’

‘I’ll handle it, and I’ll have Brimmy. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.’ 

‘Are you sure about this?’

‘I’ll be fine.’ Stiles said seriously. ‘Go with them, see what you can find out, I’ll be there in a bit.’

‘Fine.’ Danny said before shoving his phone back into his pocket.

“Stiles said he’ll come to the loft when he finishes detention.” Danny informed them. 

“Great.” Scott said, smiling slightly. 

“In the meantime I’m coming with you and I want to know everything you know about the mage and his wards.” Danny said, already moving towards Jackson’s car.


	6. Chapter 6

The ride over to the loft was quiet, just because Jackson intended to apologise to Stiles didn’t mean that Danny was quite ready to forgive him just yet, besides, if the pack were somehow to blame for whatever had happened to Stiles’ wards then he’d make sure Stiles stayed away from them.

By the time they got there, Stiles was out of detention and already on his way home, Danny could hear him letting his dad know what was going on and he was happy that they were keeping Noah in the loop.

Derek seemed surprised to see him there and when he explained that Stiles would be over in a bit he could see the small glint of relief in Derek’s eyes. It was then that Danny realised, Derek wasn’t just crushing on Stiles, he was crazy about him. Danny paused in surprise, he’d expected Derek to see Stiles and fancy him, any person even remotely interested in guys wouldn’t be able to resist, but this was so much more than that.

‘What’s going on?’ Stiles asked, obviously able to pick up on his surprise.

‘Nothing.’ Danny replied, ‘Where are you up to?’ 

‘I’ve got Brimmy, we’re on our way to the ward now.’

‘Alright, keep me in the loop.’ Danny said, turning his attention back to the pack.

“You zoned out for a second there.” Jackson said.

“Too much time with Stiles.” Danny replied, smiling slightly. “So, I want to know everything you know about this mage and his wards.”

“Wards?” Derek said looking puzzled.

“Wards.” Danny insisted, “Magical protections that are located around the town to keep most of the monsters out?” 

“We know what wards are Daniel.” Peter said condescendingly, “Evidently you know about more magic that we were led to believe.”

“Evidently.” Danny growled in reply. “But I want to know what you know about the mages wards.” 

“We don’t know anything.” Derek replied, looking up at the door when Deaton walked in. Deaton glanced around at the room, eyeing Danny suspiciously and looking annoyingly calm. 

“Deaton, did you find anything out?” Peter asked and Deaton nodded before glancing again at Danny.

“It’s okay.” Derek said, “Danny and Stiles are going to help us, it’s best we tell them everything we know.” Danny looked at him astonished, surprised that Derek would share the information with them so willingly.

‘I’m here.’ Stiles said and Danny heard Noah tell him to be careful, Stiles chuckling slightly in reply.

“I was walking in the preserve today and located one of the mages wards.” Deaton supplied.

‘Something is weird.’ Stiles informed them, ‘like a kind of goo on the ward.’ 

‘Deaton found one of them.’ Danny replied.

“I happen to know a spell.” Deaton continued, whatever he was about to say was suddenly cut off by Stiles screaming in his head. Danny gripped his head tightly, it felt like his head was about to burst, Stiles was in agony. “Ah, the spell has been activated now.”

“What did you do?” Danny yelled, gritting his teeth against the screams in his head, oblivious as the rest of the pack looked at him in shock. 

“What?” Deaton said in confusion. 

“What spell did you use?” He shouted again, Stiles was screaming, he gripped the side of his head to try and contain it.

“Danny,” Jackson said nervously, “Danny, what’s going on? Are you alright?” 

“Just tell me what spell you used!” Danny screamed again.

“It’s a spell to incapacitate the mage.” Deaton said, looking around at the pack slowly, “It induces a hallucination that will basically stop him from moving until we get back to him.”

“How?” Danny demanded, gripping the couch for support, “How does it incapacitate him?” 

“It, well, it basically it forces him to relive through his worst memories, it should only last a few moments before he will pass out, giving us plenty of time to get there.” Deaton explained and Danny felt like he was going to throw up. His phone was ringing and he pulled it out of his pocket with numb fingers.

“Noah,” Danny said in relief.

“What’s going on? He’s screaming and I can’t get through to him!” Noah was shouting.

“Deaton cast a spell. We’re going to fix it.” Trying to ignore the flashes of agony that were being shoved into his mind from Stiles. “How do you reverse the spell?” He demanded of Deaton, ignoring he way the whole pack was looking at him. “How?” He screamed. 

“It’s a simple matter of pulling my magic from him.” Deaton said nervously.

“Simple!” Danny scoffed. “Nothing is ever fucking simple!” He said clutching at his head again and nearly falling over when he saw a flash of hell, of Stiles fighting, bodies piled at his feet. “Did you get that?” He asked Noah.

“Yeah. It’s getting worse.” Noah replied, “I can’t get through to him.” 

“Keep trying. We’re on our way there now. You got the location?” Danny said, moving towards the door, expecting the pack to follow him without question. 

“Yeah, I’m on my way, be there in five.” Noah said before cutting off the call.

“What the hell is going on?” Jackson said as Danny rushed down the stairs, still clutching at his head.

“Your druid is torturing my mage. That’s what’s going on.” Danny spat in disgust.

“Your mage?” Lydia asked quietly but Danny ignored her, instead clutching at his head as Stiles screamed again.

“I am not.” Deaton shouted over Lydia, “He’ll have passed out by now, it was a few moments discomfort and nothing more.” 

“So why can I still hear him screaming?” Danny shouted back, the pack stilling to look at him like he might have lost his mind.

“What?” Deaton said in shock.

“There’s no time.” Danny shouted when a deep throb of pain came from Stiles. “Come on!” He shouted, practically shoving Deaton into Derek’s car and climbing in after him.

“Where are we going?” Derek asked and Danny leaned his head back against the headrest as Deaton gave him directions. He tried communicating with Stiles but he couldn’t get through to him, he was worried about what that meant.

They pulled up a few minutes later and Danny was glad to see that Noah was already there.

“Sheriff Stilinski?” Derek said in confusion. “What are you doing here?” 

“Not the time Hale.” Noah said angrily as the rest of the pack arrived behind them. Danny and Noah both grimaced as Stiles screamed again and this time they could hear an angry roar coming from the preserve.

“What the hell is that?” Scott said nervously. 

“Come on.” Danny said, heading in the direction of where he knew Brimmy and Stiles were. 

“Danny, just tell us what’s going on.” Jackson pleaded.

“You’ll see soon enough.” Danny said as Derek and Scott both moved slightly ahead of them. “What can you hear?” He asked and Jackson paused for a moment.

“I can hear something roaring up ahead, and the sound of a heart beating, but it’s loud, like louder than it should be, like it’s bigger than normal maybe?” 

“Nothing else?” 

“No.”

“What about smell? Can you smell anything odd?” Jackson and Lydia both looked at him like he’d lost his mind. 

“Erm, maybe like something is burning?” Jackson offered and Danny and Noah both paled, they knew what that meant. 

They saw Derek and Scott stop a few meters ahead of them and then slowly start backing up towards them.

“What is it?” Erica asked nervously.

“The mage has turned into a dragon.” Scott said seriously and Danny glared at him.

“How the fuck are you still alive? You are literally the stupidest person I’ve ever met.” Danny snarled pushing past him, Noah next to him and the rest of the pack walking just behind them.

Brimmy was in the clearing, easily the size of a house, his large body wrapped around something Danny couldn’t see, but what he assumed was Stiles, trapped in his lightning dome, the tip of Brimmy’s snout was burnt from where Danny guessed he’d tried to reach Stiles and he was roaring in anger. 

“Brimmy!” Danny called and the whole pack was looking at him like he’d gone insane. “Brimmy, it’s okay! We’re here now. We’re here.” He said as Noah stepped into the clearing as well. As soon as Brimmy saw him he stopped roaring and then it was clear to hear Stiles’ screams. 

“Is that...” Scott said slowly

“Stiles!” Derek called out in a panic, racing forward which made Brimmy roar louder and curl his body more protectively around Stiles. 

“Derek! Stop!” Danny called, grabbing hold of him and pinning him to the ground before he could reach Brimmy and trying to hold him in place for a second. 

“Stiles!” Derek shouted in despair, “He’s hurting Stiles! We’ve got to get to him!” He was screaming. Danny pinned him to the ground.

“He’s not!” Danny screamed. “He’s protecting him! Just stop! We need to get to Stiles, okay, so that Deaton can take the spell off him!” 

There was a stunned silence before Danny was climbing off Derek and moving back towards Brimmy.

“Hey buddy,” Danny called, “It’s okay, we just need to get to Stiles to make him better okay? So we need you to move.” Brimmy eyed them all suspiciously before finally unwrapping his tail, shrinking down to the size of a lion and revealing Stiles.

“Oh kiddo,” Noah said sadly, Stiles was inside the lightning dome, his clothes slowing being burnt away, the ground inside the dome burnt to ash and Stiles was screaming in pain. 

“Stiles!” Derek called dashing forward.

“No!” Danny shouted, glad when Jackson grabbed hold of Derek. “You want to know how the hunters died? That’s how. They were inside the dome when it went up.” 

“What?” Scott said in shock, “So Stiles is the mage we’ve been looking for? But Deaton said he would be middle aged?”

“I told you Deaton is an idiot.” Danny said and Deaton looked affronted. 

“So we can’t get to him?” Derek said, the despair evident in his voice. “Can’t he just stop it?”

“No.” Danny said angrily, “He’s got no control over it, when he has a panic attack, this is what happens. The spell Deaton cast forced his to relive memories, memories that forced him into a panic attack.”

“So how do we get him to calm down?” Lydia asked. Danny looked at Stiles, he looked bad, there was blood dripping from his nose now and tears were streaming down his face as he screamed. 

“Stiles!” Noah called out, “Come on kid, listen to me, you can hear me, can’t you? Come on, what you are seeing, it’s not real. It’s not real. You just need to calm down, take a breath.” 

There was another flash of pain from Stiles and Danny saw hell again, the bodies at his feet were now their faces, Scott, Derek, Danny, his dad, all of the pack, dead at his feet, their blood on his hands. Danny grabbed hold of his head, the pain knocking him off his feet. 

“Stiles!” He called out while the rest of the pack looked on in panic, “Stiles, you told me that they can’t be down there! They don’t end up there. You know that! You know that, it’s not real Stiles, it’s a hallucination. This, this is real.” Danny said forcing the image of Stiles into his mind, the faces of the pack as they looked on in worry, Noah next to him. He could feel Stiles react slightly and Noah jumped on it.

“Hey buddy, come on, we’re all worried about you here, we need you to come back to us. So, we just need you to focus, and then we can fix this okay?” Noah said, “I know you can hear me Stiles, I know you’re scared, I know, and that’s okay Stiles, but listen to me, we need you to focus Stiles, alright?” Noah could sense it was working, that Stiles was fighting to get back to them. “That’s it kiddo, you’re doing great. Just keep focusing on my voice.” 

Noah kept talking to him and the pack watched in silence, Jackson and Boyd both holding Derek in place to keep him from trying to get to Stiles when more blood started to drip from his nose as he fought against the spell. 

“You’re nearly there, Stiles.” Noah said, the dome slowly getting smaller as Stiles tried to get his breathing under control, “It’s all a hallucination remember, you’re not there, you’re here with us, you’re safe.”

“Deaton, as soon as the dome is down you need to take the spell off him.” Danny said.

“I don’t understand.” Deaton whispered, speaking for the first time since Brimmy had moved, “He was supposed to pass out after a few seconds.” 

“Well, Stiles is stronger than you think. So, be ready.” Danny said harshly, watching as Noah moved closer to Stiles, standing on the burned grass now.

“That’s it Stiles, you’re doing so well.” Noah repeated, encouraging Stiles, trying to keep him grounded in reality until the dome finally fell. 

Stiles was shaking, he’d stopped screaming by now, every bit of energy he had going into just keeping the dome under control, silent tears streaming down his face and blood pouring from his nose.

“Deaton!” Danny called and Deaton rushed forward, quickly grabbing hold of Stiles’ shoulder and reversing the spell. They knew the second it worked, all the tension disappeared from Stiles body and he blinked blearily up at his dad. 

“Hey kid, you okay?” Stiles nodded before closing his eyes again and his body going completely limp.

“What happened?” Derek said rushing over, “Is he alright? Is he okay?” Noah stood to his feet, leaving the now unconscious Stiles on the ground. He strode across to Deaton and punched the man square in the face, knocking him to the ground.

“You stay the hell away from my son. I even see you near him or his wards again and I’ll kill you. You understand me?” 

Deaton nodded numbly, backing up a few steps when Brimmy paced next to Noah, still the size of a lion, and roared in Deaton’s direction. Noah glared at Deaton before turning back to Stiles and bending down next to him. 

“How is he?” He asked Danny, Danny had a hand placed on Stiles’ forehead, feeling the heat coming off him.

“I think he’ll be fine, just exhausted.” Danny said, trying to ignore the way that Derek was hovering nervously next to Stiles. 

“We should get him home.” Noah said.

“The loft is closer.” Derek muttered and Noah glared at him.

“They didn’t know about the wards.” Danny supplied, “This is on Deaton.” Noah paused to look at the pack, they were all obviously in shock at the state of Stiles, Derek looked to be on the edge of falling apart, it was obvious how much he cared about Stiles and that surprised Noah, but now wasn’t the time, now it was important to look after Stiles. 

“Fine.” Noah sighed, knowing that the most important thing was to get Stiles somewhere warm and dry and get him cleaned up, bending down to move the unconscious Stiles. 

“Are those tattoos?” Scott whispered quietly when the remains of Stiles shirt shifted slightly. 

“Not the time.” Danny replied as he helped Noah sit Stiles up.

“I can help you with him.” Derek offered, wanting nothing more than to hold Stiles, to feel him breathing, hear his heart beating steadily. Noah looked at him, studying him before looking to Danny for guidance, when Danny nodded Derek felt his heart skip a beat and within a moment he was next to Stiles, scooping him up easily into his arms and relaxing the instant he felt Stiles’ weight settle against him.

Brimmy walked next to him as they made their way back to the car and Derek wasn’t going to admit that the dragon unsettled him massively, it was like he knew exactly how much Derek had let Stiles down. He couldn’t help but check Stiles for injuries as they made their way through the preserve, he could see the black tattoos up Stiles’ side, they stood out vividly against his pale skin, there was drying blood across the top of his t-shirt, evidently from the nose bleed but otherwise he looked okay, Derek moved forwards and then stilled, Stiles’ t-shirt had moved ever so slightly and he could now see a large raised scar that ran along his hip, his heart started to race, was that Gerard’s doing? He couldn’t help but look for more scars now, smaller ones near his ribs, faint ones at his wrists, Derek felt himself starting to fall apart, Stiles had been tortured and this was the result and Derek hadn’t been there for him.

“Pull yourself together.” Danny hissed, ensuring none of the rest of the pack heard and Derek squared his shoulders before continuing onwards. 

By the time they got to the loft Derek had better control of his emotions, Stiles had survived, he’d been through hell, Gerard had obviously tortured him, but he’d survived. He just had to focus on that. He carried him up the stairs and put him in his bed, he knew that it would be bad later, when he came to bed and would be surround by Stiles’ scent but no Stiles, but he still didn’t want him anywhere other than his bed. 

Danny watched his every move suspiciously before finally sitting on the bed next to Stiles and beginning to clean him up, Derek hovering in the doorway. 

“You got a spare shirt? And some joggers maybe?” Danny asked, indicating the destroyed clothes that Stiles was still wearing. Derek hurried forwards and pulled out a shirt and joggers for Stiles, feeling his heart shatter when he saw just how well Danny looked after Stiles, there was no place for him in Stiles’ life, he belonged with Danny, it was obvious. 

Ten minutes later Stiles was dressed in clean clothes and sleeping seemingly peacefully in Derek’s bed, Brimmy, now the size of a large house cat, curled up on the pillow next to him. Danny ran his hand gently through Stiles’ hair, his brow furrowed for a moment before he relaxed and nodded to Derek to follow him downstairs.

The rest of the pack, minus Deaton who obviously had the sense to stay away at least for the time being, were waiting silently for them to return, Noah relaxing when Danny nodded to him, letting him know that Stiles was fine. He poured himself a glass of water and then motioned for them all to relax.

“He’s going to be out for a few hours. I’m sure you all have a million questions, so I suggest we order some food in and I’ll answer what I can.” Danny said slowly.

“That sounds good.” Derek said, “I’ll order some pizzas in.” He said, already ordering pizzas to be delivered shortly.

“How long have you known Stiles was the mage?” Lydia asked quickly while Derek ordered the food.

“Pretty much since he came into his powers. He turned up at my gran’s shop the day after the warehouse and we figured it out then.” Danny replied.

“How did he come into his powers?” Scott asked.

“The night Gerard tortured him.” Danny explained.

“How? I mean, you don’t just get magical powers right?” Jackson asked, but Danny could see his genuine confusion at the situation.

“Stiles always had a spark. That night he forced them into life, to protect Erica and Boyd. I think Stiles’ powers are mainly defensive, like he can do a lot of other stuff too, but mainly it’s to protect those he cares about. The hunters were going to kill Erica and Boyd. Stiles managed to stop them, he put a protective barrier around you.”

“The mist?” Erica asked in astonishment, “That was Stiles?”

“Yes. But, the mist was failing, Stiles was hurt and he was weak. His magic can’t survive without him, when the hunters turned on him, ready to kill him, his magic did whatever it could to protect Stiles, to keep him alive, to keep the magic alive. That’s when the dome formed.” 

“And that’s what killed the hunters?” Peter asked for clarification.

“Yes.” Danny confirmed.

“Well, Stiles didn’t really kill them then did he?” Scott said, “I mean, it wasn’t like he ordered the magic to kill them, you said he doesn’t have control of the dome, he didn’t want them dead, it was just a consequence of his magic bursting into life.” 

“Even if it wasn’t,” Allison said, “Even if Stiles had killed them with his bare hands, he still wouldn’t have wanted to do it.” 

“I know.” Scott insisted. “I just mean, like, there’s no way it was murder, it wasn’t even like he killed them. They died. That’s all.” 

“Which is what I’ve told him all summer and maybe I might have convinced him up until you said he murdered them.” Danny growled, “Which I still expect you to fix by the way, especially since you’re his best friend and everything.” Scott blushed brightly.

“I’ll fix it, I promise.” Scott nodded sincerely. 

“So, Stiles created the mist,” Lydia said, “You know it still pops up when Erica and Boyd are in danger? That’s what has saved us from the Alpha pack several times over the summer.”

“I know.” Danny said seriously, “I also know that Stiles doesn’t know how to stop it, and I don’t think he really wants to. He didn’t know what he was doing when he forced his magic to protect you, although he has much better control now, so he can’t remove it just yet, it’ll probably take a bit of time for him to figure out how.”

“Why would we want him to remove it? It’s saved our lives.” Boyd asked.

“Because it drains Stiles every time you do use it. I’ve found him unconscious twice over the holidays because that magic sucks energy out of him until it stops. If the Alpha pack had continued to attack you, it would have killed Stiles and then your protection would have broken and you would have died.” There was silence in the room.

“We didn’t know that.” Isaac said numbly.

“Well, now you do and you know to be careful with it.” Danny said and both Erica and Boyd nodded seriously. 

“Why didn’t you tell us Stiles was the mage last night? When we asked about him?” Cora asked and Danny glanced upstairs at Derek’s closed door. 

“At that point, we still thought that Scott had known about Gerard’s plan. That he’d chosen to protect Allison and his mum over Stiles. I convinced him not to say anything to you because I wasn’t sure what choice you would make, if you would value your own lives over Stiles’, if you’d hand him over to the Alpha pack anyway.”

“We wouldn’t.” Derek said angrily.

“Well, I know that now. But I didn’t then, and quite frankly, you all let Stiles down, I might trust that you wouldn’t willingly hand him over, but I don’t know that I trust you with his safety.” Danny said and Noah nodded in agreement and held up a hand to stop Scott from interrupting.

“The more people that know what Stiles is, the more likelihood of someone finding out who means him harm.” Noah said and they all turned to look at him. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Cora asked.

“It means that there are plenty of creatures out there that want his powers, that want to kill him for them, that want to kill him for the honour of killing a mage, his magic calls to them. It means he’s basically a monster magnet. So, the less people that know he’s the mage the better.”

“We won’t tell anyone.” Scott said earnestly. 

“I’m more worried about Deaton.” Noah said, “He put that spell on Stiles’ wards, apparently without any of you knowing, and the way he looked at him, like he’d just won a prize, I don’t trust him.” 

“You’re not the only one. I’ve never trusted him.” Peter said, “He plays his cards too close to his chest.”

“Says you!” Scott said indignantly. “Deaton is a friend.” He insisted. 

“Well, I don’t trust him.” Noah argued, “And since it’s my son’s life as stake I’m having the final say in the matter.” Scott nodded solemnly. 

The food chose that moment to arrive and Danny was grateful, the tension in the air was obvious and he was sure everyone must be picking up on it.

“So,” Peter said as soon as the pizza was handed out, “Sheriff, how is it that you found out about the supernatural?” 

Danny and Noah exchanged glances, neither of them wanted to tell the pack about Stiles’ time in hell, it was up to Stiles if he wanted them to know.

“Something happened over the summer that meant keeping this stuff from me wasn’t an option anymore.” Noah said seriously, “And thank you so much for that by the way, keeping all of this from me is exactly what I needed in my life.” Noah added sarcastically, “Thinking my son had joined a gang or was on drugs but no, he’s involved with a pack of werewolves.” 

“That’s my fault sir.” Derek said, “I should have made sure you knew exactly what was going on, but Stiles was insistent that you were kept out of this, the supernatural world is harsh and he didn’t want you getting involved.”

“Well, it’s too late for that now.” Noah said, surprised that Derek had owned up to that particular issue, although there were still more problems to go through at a later date. He got a flash of fear from Stiles and immediately soothed him telepathically, feeling him slip back to a deeper sleep. 

“There’s something that’s not making sense to me.” Lydia added and Danny looked at her expectantly, “You said that you convinced Stiles not to tell us that he was the mage, but you didn’t know we knew until you were both already here.” 

“And?” Danny said, trying to pretend that he didn’t know where this was going.

“And,” Lydia continued, eyeing him suspiciously, “When Gerard was here, the way you moved, together, like you came up with a plan instantly, and then when Deaton’s spell was activated, you were acting really weird, both of you seemed to know what was going on, what was going on with Stiles, before Deaton had even said what the spell did, and you said you could hear him screaming.” 

“And your question is?” Danny asked.

“How? Is it your powers? Is it some kind of spell you cast? Like you and Stiles and the Sheriff can sense what the others are thinking or feeling or something?” Lydia asked and both Noah and Danny grinned.

“No.” Danny said, “It’s not my powers, it’s Stiles’. It’s not a sense of what we think or feel, it’s telepathy.” There was silence.

“So, Stiles can read our thoughts?” Derek said nervously and Danny grinned. 

“No. Although I’d love to see his face if he could read your thoughts.” Derek blushed brightly. “It’s like a phone call, except without using the phones, we were talking when the spell was activated, which meant that when Stiles started hallucinating,” Danny shuddered slightly, “What he was seeing, what he was feeling, we could feel it too.” 

“What was he seeing?” Scott asked, his voice small and full of fear, “Was it Gerard and the hunters?” 

“Partially.” Danny answered honestly, after all, George had appeared in the visions Danny had seen, “But Gerard wasn’t the worst thing to happen to Stiles this summer, and, before you ask, no, I’m not telling you, if Stiles wants to tell you then he can, but it’s not my place.”

“Although,” Noah said, “You should know that without Danny, Stiles wouldn’t be here with us. He saved his life, and not just helping him heal from Gerard, I owe Danny more than I can ever say and I’m so glad Stiles found him.” Danny blushed at the words, he hadn’t expected such kind words from Noah and the rest of the pack were looking at him with admiration.

“So, can he like eavesdrop on any conversation?” Isaac asked.

“No. Like I said, it’s like a phone call, we can talk, but he can’t hear the whole conversation, only what I tell him, what he tells me. We can’t read each other’s minds. We can send each other images, pictures of what we can see, or have seen, like picture messages and stuff, and we spend most of Harris’ class talking about what a jackass he is.”

There were a few laughs around the room at that, followed by a few minutes’ silence as they ate what was left of the pizza before Allison piped up with her questions.

“What about the tattoos?”

“What about them?” Noah asked.

“When did he get those?” 

“The first he got the day after the warehouse.” Danny said, “It’s a healing rune. He was injured and refused to go to a hospital, at that point Noah didn’t know and he didn’t want him to find out. His magic led him to my gran, when she saw the injuries she insisted he go to the hospital, but by that point Stiles had lost a lot of blood, he wasn’t really with it, just kept insisting that nobody could know. We stitched up the injuries that we could and then my gran tattooed the healing rune onto him. Thankfully it worked and he started to heal not long after that. He was still kind of out of it, weak from blood loss, but we managed to get him cleaned up and he slept for a while and felt a lot better.” 

“So, can he heal like a werewolf then?” Erica asked.

“No.” Danny said firmly, “But he still heals quicker than a normal human. He’s slightly less breakable than he was, and his magic protects him from most injuries anyway.”

“What about the other tattoos?” Derek asked, trying not to think about the fact that Stiles had nearly bled to death and he hadn’t been there.

“The other rune is a control rune. It helps Stiles to keep his magic under control.” Noah explained.

“But it didn’t stop the dome earlier?” Jackson said in confusion.

“No.” Noah agreed, “But that was brought on by a panic attack, like Danny said, his magic is defensive, protective, when Stiles can’t protect himself, his magic does it for him. When he had a panic attack the dome appeared to protect him from danger until he managed to get through the panic attack. But other than that, he’s completely in control, and that’s helped by the rune.”

“Stiles has a spark.” Danny said, “Any magic user can see it, when he first came into his powers it was so bright that I couldn’t see him properly because of his spark, it was so bright. Anyone with any magic ability would be able to tell instantly that he was the mage, we had to dull it down, make sure that the threats were kept to a minimum.” 

“How did you dull it down?” Peter asked curiously, “Did you bind his power in some way?” 

“No.” Danny said outraged, “He learnt to control it, that’s what the rune is for, to help him control how visible his spark is, not just to control his magic.” 

“And did it minimise the threats?” 

“Largely.” Danny replied, “His wards kept the smaller threats out, they can’t break through them, the more powerful threats can still make it through, but Stiles can always sense when. He even sensed Gerard coming through yesterday afternoon, but he couldn’t figure out what it was.” 

“Figure out what it was?” Boyd asked.

“Yeah, most of time he can tell what comes through just from the feel of it, but Gerard wasn’t something he’d felt before.” Dann explained.

“But there have been threats that made it through the wards?” Lydia asked.

“Yes.” Danny confirmed.

“And what happened to them?” Scott asked.

“They were given the option to leave or die.” Danny said.

“And?” Scott insisted.

“There apparently was no option, they wanted Stiles’ powers, they wouldn’t leave.”

“So you killed them?” Scott said in shock.

“Yes.” Danny said firmly, “Stiles tried to convince them to leave, that they wouldn’t get his powers, that they would die, but they always think they will be the one to defeat him, they will be the one to kill him.”

“He could have just injured them and then tell them to leave.” Scott said.

“Yeah and the times Stiles has done that he’s nearly died when they continued to come after him. Scott,” Danny said in exasperation, “What you don’t seem to understand if these aren’t humans, these aren’t werewolves that control themselves, these are creatures who thrive on magic and blood, who don’t want anything from this world other than to dismember humans.” Danny said, trying not to get angry at Scott, “There was no choice, Stiles gave them the option to leave, he tried to spare their lives, they were the ones that chose to fight.” 

“What kind of creatures have you come up against?” Cora asked, curious as to what else was out there.

“Well, vampires for one.” Danny said, watching in amusement at the look on the packs faces as they took in this information, “They were the first thing to break through his wards.” 

“They?” Derek said worried, “How many is they?” 

“Three of them.” Danny replied, “They were going to kill us, then head into town and kill them as many people as they liked.” There was silence, “Things got pretty bad, as in Stiles had fangs in his neck before he actually managed to kill them.”

“They fed off him?” Scott said in horror.

“They tried.” Danny smirked, “Stiles forced his spark to shine like the sun and he burnt them to ash. It was pretty cool to watch, although then he came pretty close to having a panic attack because it was so similar to what happened with the hunters and he wasn’t really dealing with it very well. But I managed to get him home and patched up and we just went from there.” 

“What about the other tattoo?” Derek asked, “It looks like a dragon?” He asked, in truth he’d only had a brief glimpse of it, but he was pretty sure it was a dragon.

“He got that one when we met Brimmy.” Noah informed him.

“Brimmy? What kind of name is Brimmy for a dragon?” Peter scoffed.

“Fire and Brimstone kind of name.” Danny said, “Stiles gave him the name and Brimmy likes it so we’re not going to argue with him over it.”

“So Brimmy is short for Brimstone?” Scott said in surprise.

“Yes.” Danny replied.

“And how did they meet?” Erica asked.

“That’s a story for Stiles to tell you.” Noah said firmly and Danny nodded.

There were a few more questions, mainly about what magic Stiles could do, what other monsters they had fought and what magic Danny could do. Danny was beginning to get a bit of a headache and he was glad when he felt Stiles begin to stir, evidently the wolves must have heard something because they all turned towards the door upstairs.

‘Hey bud, how are you feeling?’ Danny asked and Stiles groaned back at him.

‘Where am I?’ Stiles asked slowly.

‘At the loft, in Derek’s bed, it was closer than your house and the pack had a million questions.’

‘All the times I’ve dreamt about waking up in Derek’s bed it never ended up like this.’ Stiles said seriously and Danny burst into laughter.

“He’s fine.” He said to worried wolves. 

“Were you doing it then?” Lydia asked, “Talking telepathically?” 

“Yes.” Danny replied honestly. 

“And he’s definitely okay?” Derek asked worried.

Danny sent a visual of Derek looking incredibly constipated to Stiles. 

‘I’d say get down here before Derek comes up there and mauls you.’ He said seriously.

“Alright, chill out sourwolf. It’s not like I’m naked in your bed.” Stiles said quietly, knowing the wolves would hear it, frustrated that Derek would be quite so possessive of his bed, although he guessed he could understand that, he guessed it was like he was in a wolfs den. 

Derek heard the words loud and clear and he struggled to control himself, to stop himself from going up there and making sure that Stiles was naked in his bed and would be staying there for a long time. 

‘What happened to my clothes?’ Stiles asked and Danny grinned.

‘First, tell me what you just said to Derek, he looks like he’s about to murder someone.’ Danny replied.

‘I just told him to chill out, it’s not like I’m getting my junk all over his bed, who knew to was so possessive of his bed?’ Stiles said and Danny couldn’t help but laugh at how completely clueless Stiles could be. ‘So, what happened to my clothes? And who do these belong to?’

‘Well, you had a panic attack, and yours kind of got burnt, and those are Derek’s.’ Danny said, trying to get the bad news over as quickly as possible. Stiles groaned loudly and Danny was worried for a moment.

‘Did they see? Do they know?’

‘Yeah.’ Danny sighed in reply.

‘You know you can’t hide up there forever.’ Noah said, joining the conversation.

‘Why not?’ Stiles replied sulkily. 

Noah sent another picture of Derek, this time looking like he was willing the bedroom door to burst into flames. 

“Jeez.” Stiles sighed getting out of the bed, trying not to think about the fact it was probably the most comfortable bed he’d ever slept in.

‘There’s pizza.’ Noah added.

“Why didn’t you just say that?” Stiles called down, “Shoes?” He shouted.

“Burnt too!” Danny called back. 

“Fantastic!” Stiles said sarcastically, before there was a noise like someone falling over.

Derek rushed up the stairs before anyone could stop him, worried that Stiles was hurt, instead when he opened his bedroom door he was greeted by a horse sized Brimmy trying to get in between Stiles legs so that Stiles could sit on his back, instead he’d knocked Stiles over who was now sitting on the floor laughing in amusement at the overexcited dragon.

“Are you alright?” Derek said, rushing over to help Stiles up.

“Fine.” Stiles said, brushing himself off and grinning at Brimmy, “He’s never done that before, I think he was trying to help?” Stiles said glancing down at his bare feet. 

“Here.” Derek said rushing over to a drawer and pulling out a pair of thick socks before throwing them to Stiles. He was going to mention how good Stiles smelt in his clothes, how Derek’s whole room seemed to smell of Stiles now and how he was really struggling with the thought of actually letting Stiles out of the bedroom, trying to convince himself that it wasn’t a good idea to shut the door behind him and claim Stiles now, the main reason being that Stiles was with Danny now, someone who actually deserved him, someone who looked out for him.

“Thanks.” Stiles said, shoving them on his feet quickly and Derek watched with curiosity as Brimmy shrunk back down to cat size. Stiles glanced at him, seemingly confused as to why Derek was just standing there, before he gestured towards the stairs, “Well, erm, dad said there was pizza?” Derek cleared his throat, realized he’d been staring.

“Yeah, yeah there is.” He said awkwardly and Stiles glanced at him again in confusion before disappearing down the stairs, Brimmy at his heels. Derek shut the bedroom door behind him, wanting to make sure that when he went to bed later his room would still smell of Stiles. 

Stiles was more than a bit worried, Derek had been staring at him weirdly and he’d practically slammed the door shut as soon as Stiles was out, obviously he really liked his privacy, he just couldn’t understand why Derek had let Stiles in there in the first place. All thoughts were gone from his mind when he saw the pizza, he’d been dreaming about hell, about fighting and screaming and death and blood, food was a godsend.

He dived straight for it, almost shoving a whole piece into his mouth before he even registered the rest of the pack.

“Oh my god, so good!” Stiles moaned around the pizza, swallowing the slice of pizza quickly and reaching for another one. He didn’t understand why all the wolves were looking at Derek oddly, probably because they all knew he was the mage now and they were looking to their Alpha for how to approach this situation.

Derek was fairly sure he was going to die of sexual frustration, the sounds Stiles made when eating that pizza were not fucking normal and it was driving his wolf insane, why the hell did Stiles enjoy eating pizza so much? Although he was still making a mental note to make sure he bought this kind of pizza again. He was pretty sure that his arousal was obvious, especially if the way the wolves were looking at him was any indication. Peter was staring at him like he’d only just figured something out, whereas the rest of the wolves were just staring at him like he’d grown a second head.

Peter smirked slightly and Derek knew he was going to regret every moment from now on. 

“So, you’re the almighty mage the Alpha pack wants?” Peter said without preamble, Stiles stopped stuffing his face with pizza to look up at Peter. 

“Erm, yeah, apparently so.” Stiles said, Brimmy jumping lightly into his lap and curling up to go to sleep. 

“Well, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that the plan to hand over the mage to the Alpha pack in no longer a valid option.” Peter said and the rest of the pack nodded in agreement. 

“We’d never do that to you Stiles.” Scott said earnestly, “You’re my best friend Stiles and what I said yesterday, it was out of line, I was wrong, incredibly wrong, and I won’t ask you to forgive me, because I know I’ve made a huge mess of things recently, but I want you to know how sorry I am and I’ll do anything I can to fix this.”

‘What the hell did you say to them?’ Stiles said in surprise, he’d never expected Scott to apologize like this.

‘We just told them what happened, they saw the dome themselves, they know you had no control over it. Scott understands now, how it wasn’t your fault.’ Danny replied.

‘Did you tell them about Aamon?’ Stiles asked nervously, he wasn’t sure he was ready for the pack to know everything.

‘No.’ Noah said quickly, ‘They know something happened, but we didn’t say what or when, it’s up to you to decide if you want to tell them.’

“Are you guys doing that telepathy thing again?” Scott asked and Stiles looked at him in surprise. “Yeah, we know all about that.”

“Oh.” Stiles said dumbly. “Well, yeah, kind of got into a habit of it.”

“Because you’ve been doing it all summer?” Jackson asked and Stiles shrugged. “Hang on,” Jackson said in shock, “Earlier, when you were in detention and Danny was texting you, he wasn’t actually texting you was he? He was talking to you?” Stiles blushed slightly and Danny grinned. “Oh my god! How could we have been so stupid!?” Jackson said in despair and Dany laughed slightly. 

“You missed it earlier when Scott thought the mage could turn himself into a dragon!” Danny laughed to Stiles who stared at Scott with amazement.

“I wish!” Stiles laughed.

“So you can’t?” Scott asked for clarification, “You can’t transform into something else?”

“Well,” Stiles replied, thinking slowly, “I haven’t tried, but I’ll give it a go at some point and let you know how it goes.” 

“Dude, I can’t believe you have magic and we didn’t know!” Scott said, “When do we get to see these awesome powers of yours?” He asked and Stiles shrugged, he was still tired, he kind of just wanted to go to bed, Danny seemed to pick up on it instantly.

“Not now.” He said calmly, “Stiles is still worn out from earlier, we’re going to go back to his.” Danny explained, “If Stiles wants to then we’ll call around tomorrow afternoon and talk more then.” Stiles nodded, letting him know that they would talk more then, as it was, he could already feel his eyes slipping closed. “Come on.” Danny said, pulling him to his feet and gripping his hand tightly as Noah made his way towards the door, Danny and Stiles both following after him.

The pack stared at them as they disappeared through the door, before immediately turning to Derek. 

“How long have you known?” Peter said angrily, his voice louder than everyone else’s.

“Now isn’t the time Peter.” Derek said, he couldn’t deal with this, not now not when it was obvious that Danny and Stiles were quite serious already. 

“Isn’t the time!?” Peter said incredulous, “He’s your mate Derek! How can it not be the time!?” 

“Mate?” Isaac asked.

“Do these wolves know nothing?” Cora asked. 

“We’re new to this.” Erica snarled, “We’re all still learning.” Cora looked at them with pity.

“A wolf has a mate, one mate, for their entire life, a soulmate as it were.” Peter explained, “Not every wolf meets their mate, but the lucky few who do get to spend their lives with their soulmate.”

“And you think that Stiles and Derek are soulmates?” Scott said in confusion.

“I know they are.” Peter hissed, “What I can’t understand is why Derek hasn’t already told him!?” 

“It’s not important.” Derek said quietly and they all looked at him in shock.

“So you’re saying it’s true!?” Lydia demanded, “You and Stiles are soulmates?” 

“No.” Derek said, “Stiles is my soulmate, but humans don’t feel the bond like wolves do. Stiles is my soulmate, but I’m not his.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Peter said condescendingly, “He’d obviously do anything for you.” 

“Maybe, once, but I messed all that up, now he’ll barely talk to me.”

“Or us.” Erica said, “But we’re going to fix it and so can you. If you guys are soulmates, then it’ll work out.”

“And he’s with Danny now. Danny who looks out for him and is good for him, he deserves that. He deserves to be happy.” Derek argued and there was silence, nobody could argue with that.

“But, soulmates,” Cora said, “Maybe Danny and Stiles work right now, but soulmates are supposed to be together. You just need to give it time, be there for him, show him how much you appreciate him.” 

“I’m not getting involved in their relationship, I’m not messing it up for him, he deserves better than me.” Derek said firmly, “I don’t want Stiles to know about this, so please, nobody mention it to him.” He asked and one by one the pack nodded although Peter still looked angry at his decision. “It’s my decision Peter.”

“I know. I just think it’s a stupid decision.” Peter argued, “But, if you’re sure about this nephew, then I won’t tell him.”

“Thank you.” Derek said a moment later.

By the time Stiles got home he was exhausted, he excused himself and headed to bed, Brimmy trailing up the stairs after him. As soon as he was in his bed he was almost instantly asleep, not bothering to change out of Derek’s clothes and drifting into an easy sleep.

“Danny,” Noah said as soon as Stiles was out of sight, “I need to ask you something.” Danny paused, waiting for whatever Noah wanted to ask, “I saw you earlier, holding Stiles’ hand, is there something going on between the two of you? Something I should know about?”

“No!” Danny said quickly, “No, god no! I mean, the pack thinks there is, and that’s my fault, but I was trying to annoy Derek, I saw the way he was looking at Stiles,”

“So did I, kind of hard to miss.” 

“Yeah, well, they were being so rude and I just wanted to make Derek jealous, so I asked Stiles out, Stiles said yes and then we pretended to go on a date.”

“But Stiles knows it wasn’t a real date right?” 

“Obviously, we didn’t actually go on a date, we went to check his wards, and like the completely oblivious idiot he is, he thinks I’m trying to make Isaac jealous, he doesn’t even realize that Derek is interested, he told me that if I want to make Isaac jealous I should pick someone more appealing.” Danny laughed and Noah couldn’t help but laugh as well.

“Well, I don’t think we should put Derek out of his misery just yet.” Noah smirked, “After all, he upset my son and even if Stiles has forgiven him, which I expect he has done, it doesn’t mean I’m going to let him off the hook so easily.”

“Which means you’re happy to go along with this plan?” Danny said happily, unable to believe that Noah would go along with this.

“Yes. At least until I feel Derek’s suffered enough. And then we need to think of a punishment for Scott.”

“I think Stiles has forgiven him too.”

“Well, again, just because he has, doesn’t mean I have.” Noah replied and Danny nodded, he knew what he meant. “Nothing too serious of course, just enough to annoy him.” 

“Of course.” Danny grinned in agreement.

The next day at school was different again for Stiles, when he pulled up in his jeep, Danny, Jackson and Lydia were waiting for him, Danny grabbing his hand as soon as he was outside, Stiles raised an eyebrow at him and Danny just grinned, when Isaac appeared a moment later he figured out why and he just smirked at Danny’s idiocy, he really should just be a grown up and tell Isaac how he felt. 

Scott sat next to him in class again and Stiles actually stayed sat next to him this time, they didn’t talk but it was a start. Erica and Cora sat in front of him in his class with Ms Blake and he was grateful for that, he really didn’t like the woman. He couldn’t help but notice that the pack were all giving him weird looks, like they were trying to figure something out, he imagined it was because they all knew about his magic now and weren’t sure how to act around him.


	7. Chapter 7

Lunch had been a bit weird, Stiles wasn’t ready to sit with the pack, he didn’t want to sit with the lacrosse team, instead he just headed out to the field and threw the ball around for a bit, completely ignorant of the stares he got from most of the female population and definitely some of the males, before finally heading back inside.

They were in Harris’ class and Stiles was nervous about going across to the loft later, he wasn’t sure what to say to them and he wasn’t sure what was going to happen. 

‘Want to spar after school before we go to the loft?’ Danny asked and Stiles grinned at him.

‘Yes please!’ He replied, knowing that it would take his mind off his worries and help to settle his mind, not to mention all the nervous energy that was running through his body at the moment.

‘Okay, cool, we’ll tell the others we want some alone time, sound good?’ Danny wasn’t going to mention that he knew it would annoy Derek. He wasn’t trying to be completely heartless, he knew that Derek cared about Stiles, a lot more than Danny had originally thought, but still, Derek had hurt Stiles and just because Stiles had let them all off the hook easily didn’t mean he was going to.

“You guys going to come straight over to the loft?” Isaac asked and Danny grabbed onto Stiles’ hand.

“Actually, we’re going to go hang out for a bit. We’ll come over later though.” Danny said easily and Stiles felt a bit guilty when Isaac’s smile dropped slightly.

“Okay, no worries, we’ll see you later.” Isaac said before disappearing off towards Erica’s car.

“You know, you’re really just going to have to tell him.” Stiles said and Danny looked around nervously.

‘No, I don’t.’ Danny replied telepathically for fear of the wolves overhearing, ‘Not yet, please Stiles, just a little bit longer, please?’

‘Alright, fine, but if this whole thing blows up in your face don’t blame me. I keep telling you being with me is not going to make him jealous. You should pick someone hotter, like one of the twins or something.’

‘You really don’t see yourself clearly at all do you?’ Danny asked in amusement. 

‘Speaking of the Alpha’s, what are we going to do about the pack? I think I might have a plan.’ Stiles said, starting to outline the plan to Danny.

Noah was just leaving to go to the station when they got back to Stiles’.

“Hey dad, how’s everything going?”

“Fine Stiles.” Noah sighed heavily, everything was not fine, there was a case that was really starting to pile up the bodies and he wasn’t sure what to do.

“You sure?” Stiles asked, easily able to see the frown on his dads face. 

“Yeah, sure, just a case at work.”

“Anything I can help with.”

“No, purely normal, human misfits.” Noah replied.

“Well, you know, if you need any help, I’m here.”

“I know kiddo.” Noah said, pulling Stiles into a quick hug. “What are you two boys up to?” 

“We’re just heading out back to spar, then we’re going across to the loft later.” Stiles replied.

“But the pack think we’re on a date.” Danny added, winking at Noah behind Stiles’ back. 

“You should have seen the look on Isaac’s face dad, he’s not jealous, he’s just gutted. I really think you should just tell him how you feel.” 

“Not yet.” Danny said, “Now, do you want to go spar or not?” Stiles grinned.

“You’re keen to get your butt kicked today?” He teased and Danny laughed.

“Come on then.” Danny said and they headed out to the back garden.

They didn’t bother having showers before they went across to the loft, instead opting to run there through the preserve, Stiles pushing his magic to make both of them run faster and with more ease than completely natural, Brimmy flying easily above them. They made it to the loft panting slightly, both still caught up in the euphoria of running and sparring with magic infused bodies. 

“You guys look like you had fun?” Jackson asked then they burst through the door, their eyes bright with excitement. 

“Yeah.” Stiles said laughing as Danny picked some twigs out of his hair from where he’d rolled to the ground dodging one of the small fireballs Brimmy had aimed at them.

“I had loads of fun actually.” Danny said, “Same again tomorrow?” He asked loudly and Stiles nodded, he needed to keep sparring if he had any chance at beating the Alpha pack.

Derek appeared a moment later a scowl on his face and Stiles waved at him in greeting.

“Sorry we didn’t come across earlier, we were busy.” Stiles said.

“Doing what exactly?” Peter asked from a corner of the room.

“I’m sure it’s not something you really want to hear about.” Danny replied coolly, taking Stiles’ hand, and the whole room seemed to flinch and glance to Derek. Stiles really wasn’t sure what that was about but he decided to ignore it.

“I’ve been thinking about the Alpha pack.” He said quickly, moving over to the sofa and perching on the arm, “I think I have a plan.”

“Okay.” Derek said. “Let’s hear it then.” He said as the whole pack sat down around the room, he sat as far away from Stiles as possible, he couldn’t be close to him, not when he smelt of sweat and Danny, it made him want to tear Danny’s throat out. 

“Alright, well, first, we go for the weak links. The twins aren’t sure about all of this at all. They aren’t Alphas, I mean, they are, but not really, they need someone giving them orders, they need an Alpha. They aren’t Alphas. I think, if we suggest an alternative option to them, like leave the Alpha pack and join the Hale pack, they are likely to do it. Admittedly they’d want to know that the Hale pack can protect them from the Alpha pack, that they aren’t signing their own death warrants, which is sensible. And also where I come in.”

“How?” Derek asked.

“I use some of my magic on them, not a lot, just enough to show them what I am capable of, that should turn them in our favour. The question is if you’d be willing to take them in if it does work?”

Derek paused, he wasn’t sure about this, taking in two wolves that were Alphas, he wasn’t sure how he felt about it.

“I can offer them a trial. But I won’t promise them anything, not if it risks the lives of my pack.” He said honestly. 

“That’s good enough for me.” Stiles said. “So, part two of the plan. If we get Ethan and Aidan on our team then the Alpha pack is down to three, Deucalion, Ennis and Kali. Ennis is brawn over brains, so is Kali if we’re honest. They’ll fight, but only if they think they can win. Otherwise they’ll run. So the plan is to make them think there’s no chance they can win, which means, one, a show of strength from this pack, and two, some clever magic from Danny that will deprive them of their abilities.”

“Remove their wolves?” Peter said in shock.

“No.” Stiles replied, “Nobody can do that. What we can do is make them think that we can, it’s a clever bit of magic, Danny found it in this really cool book while he was looking for,” Stiles trailed off, he wasn’t going to tell them that Danny found it when trying to find a way to rescue Stiles from hell, “Well, that’s not important, what is important is that it’ll make Ennis and Kali think they’ve lost their powers, against a pack of wolves as human, they know they won’t stand a chance and they’ll run.”

“Why not do that with Deucalion as well?” Lydia asked.

“The spell is hard work,” Danny said honestly, “Stiles can help me maintain it, but the more wolves we do it on the harder it is, and he’s going to need his magic to deal with Deucalion.”

“You’re going to go against Deucalion?” Derek said angrily, “No, not a chance.” He said, if something happened to Stiles, he’d never be able to get over it.

“Well, actually, that’s exactly what’s going to happen if you want to defeat them.” Stiles argued.

“How?” Boyd asked.

“This is where it gets a bit, erm, well, the thing is, the Alpha pack aren’t going to meet with you if they don’t think you have the mage. If you get a message to them that you have the mage then arrange a meeting, you make as if you’re going to hand me over, then the twins switch sides, Kali and Ennis are taken care of by Danny and there’s only Deucalion left, and if things go massively wrong we have Chris and dad in the treeline with wolfsbane bullets. I’ll try and talk him into leaving, convince him that if he leaves and promises not to return then they’ll be no consequences for his actions here, but that if he doesn’t, he’ll die.” 

“You want us to pretend to hand you over?” Scott said in shock and Stiles nodded. 

“No way.” Derek insisted, “We’re not doing that. You’ll be in danger.”

“I’m going to be in danger either way.” Stiles argued, “Either you do this with me or I do it by myself.” 

“I don’t like this.” Derek said.

“You don’t have to like it, you just have to agree to it.” Stiles said.

“Fine.” Derek sighed, at least if he was with Stiles then he would be able to protect him.

“Good, first we need to work on the twins, so we start that tomorrow.”

“How long do you think it will take to convince them?” Erica asked.

“Hopefully not long, but it may take a couple of days, I don’t want to tell them straight away that I’m the mage, if we haven’t got them on side at that point and they go tell Deucalion then that puts my dad in danger. We’ll have to take our time.”

“Okay, we’ll follow your lead on this.” Derek said and Stiles looked at him in shock. 

“Okay,” Stiles said, clearing his throat and blushing slightly, “Okay, cool, okay. Good.” He said before sighing slightly. “So, onto the next point, you wanted to talk about my magic, I know Danny and dad told you a lot last night, but is there anything you want to know?” 

“What did you hallucinate?” Allison asked and Stiles flinched.

“Anything but that.” Stiles said.

“Okay, how does it feel to have magic?” Erica asked.

“It feels warm.” Stiles answered honestly, “There’s a warmth in my chest that wasn’t there before, and it feels like safety.” He knew he sounded like an idiot, but he didn’t know how else to word it.

“Danny says that you have much better control than you did?” Peter asked and Stiles nodded, “Can you show us something?” Stiles shrugged.

“I guess, what do you want to see?” Stiles asked, a bit unsure of himself, he wasn’t sure what Peter wanted.

“I’m curious about the protective mist,” Peter explained, “How does it work? Would you be able to protect all of us if it came to a fight?” 

“Yes.” Stiles said firmly, “It won’t come to that, not unless they have a death wish. But if it does, if it comes to a fight, then I can get it to work.” 

“How does it work?” Peter asked.

“Erm,” Stiles shrugged, “It just does, I want it to protect you, it will.”

“Danny mentioned something about it drains energy from you?” Erica asked and Stiles shot Danny a glare.

“He shouldn’t have told you that.” 

“So he’s wrong?” Scott asked and Stiles sighed.

“No. He’s not wrong. But I didn’t want you guys to know that.” 

“Why not?” Isaac said in confusion, “I mean, if this magic drains you and we don’t get out of danger quick enough then it could kill you.”

“Okay, first off, the amount of energy it drains from me is tiny, the times that I’ve passed out, I was already tired and run down and generally kind of crappy, there’s several other times when it’s worked just fine and there haven’t been any repercussions for me so don’t worry about it.” 

“Can you demonstrate right now?” Peter asked.

“Sure, I mean, I don’t know how well it will work if no-one is in immediate danger.” Stiles said, watching Peter carefully. He was actually prepared when Peter launched himself at Lydia. Stiles was surprised at his choice of victim, he knew Peter wouldn’t go for one of the wolves, they’d heal too quickly, so obviously he’d go for one of the humans, but he’d expected Peter to launch himself at Stiles or Danny, definitely not one of the members of his own pack. He threw his magic outwards, the mist appearing around Lydia a moment before Peter could connect and throwing him backwards towards the cool.

“Not cool.” Jackson growled at Peter who was smiling happily at Stiles as he managed to get back to his feet.

“So freaking cool!” Scott said, admiring the mist around Lydia until it disappeared again. “You didn’t have to like say a spell or anything?” 

“My magic doesn’t work in the same way that Danny’s does.” Stiles said simply.

“I need spells and potions, Stiles can pretty much do whatever he believes he can.” Danny explained.

“So learning to throw knives like the other night? Is that just because you believe you can?” Lydia asked and Stiles grinned.

“No. Enchanted knives, I enchanted a few so that they would always hit whatever Danny or I were aiming for, if anyone else used them they’d just be normal knives.”

“That’s cool.” Isaac said, looking at Danny with something like wonder and Danny smiled shyly back at him. Stiles grinned widely, he could totally see Danny and Isaac getting together. They talked for a little longer before it became obvious that Stiles was getting agitated with all the questions.

“We were going to watch a film, you could stay and watch with us?” Derek suggested awkwardly and Stiles blushed before shaking his head.

“No, I’m good thanks, you can stay if you want Danny, I’m just going to head over to the station and see my dad for a bit.” Stiles said, Danny looked at him unsure but nodded eventually and Stiles was out the door a moment later.

Stiles got to the station about half an hour later, he’d taken his time, walking through town while he let his mind wander. Derek acted like he wanted Stiles back in the pack, he knew that Derek had said all those things that night because he was angry, but it didn’t mean they weren’t true, and now Derek acted like he wanted Stiles back, but it was only to help them because he was the mage, not because he wanted Stiles around, and the way he’d been yesterday, with Stiles going in his room, Derek looked ready to murder someone. He wasn’t sure how this was going to play out, he didn’t know what would happen when the Alpha pack were gone, if he would still be invited to join the pack or thrown away again, well, they probably wouldn’t throw him away, not now they knew about his magic, he just wasn’t sure he only wanted to be kept around because of his magic.

“Hey Kiddo!” Noah said in surprise when he got to the station, “Everything okay? What are you doing here?” 

“I’m fine dad.” Stiles said, “I just thought I’d come and find out what case is bothering you at the moment?” 

“Official police business Stiles.” Noah said kindly, “I’ve got it under control.”

“When have you ever known me to keep my nose out of official police business? Why don’t you just tell me what’s going on and then I’ll keep my nose out of it?” Stiles tried, Noah raised his eyebrow incredulously, Stiles couldn’t keep his nose out of anything.

“Alright,” Noah sighed, watching at Stiles sank into the chair opposite his desk, “I’ve got three dead bodies,”

“Dead from what?” Stiles asked, “Animal attacks?” 

“No, drug overdoses.” Noah sighed, “The problem is that they shouldn’t be dead, someone is distributing dirty drugs.”

“Do you know who?” Stiles said shocked.

“Yeah I know who. But tying them to it, getting actual proof, it’s proving difficult in the extreme.” Noah sighed.

“What do you need?” Stiles said seriously.

“I need to catch them with the drugs on them, or find the lab where they’re making these dirty drugs, plus…” His voice trailed off when he saw the look in Stiles’ eyes, “Oh no, no, you’re not getting involved in this Stiles, this is humans breaking the law, I’ll figure it out, you stay out of this.” Stiles frowned and nodded in agreement but his mind was already racing ahead of him. They talked for a few more minutes before Stiles agreed he should probably be getting home and start on his homework. 

He stepped out of his dad’s office and looked around the station and spotting a deputy he’d seen a few times before.

“Parrish isn’t it?” Stiles said after wandering over to his desk, Parrish obviously knew who Stiles was as he looked at him suspiciously.

“What can I do for you Stiles?” He asked and Stiles grinned.

“Actually, it’s what I can do for you.” Stiles said and Parrish frowned.

“Really?” He asked.

“Yeah, I’ve got an idea and I need your help with it.”

“And why would I help you?”

“Well, when it works, you’ll have brought down these drug dealers that my dad’s so worried about and you’ll be the hero of the station.”

“I don’t think…”

“Or, you can not help me, and I’ll go get someone else to help me instead?” Stiles said slowly and Parrish looked at him, obviously trying to figure out what exactly Stiles wanted. 

“What do you need?” Parrish said, sighing defeatedly. 

“I need everything you have on who these guys are and I’ll need a little bit of time.” Stiles said, Parrish sighed again before copying a file and handing it across to Stiles who stuck it quickly up his shirt and headed home.

He tried to get his homework done, at least some of it, but he had a million thoughts running around in his brain, how to deal with the Alpha pack, how to deal with his wards and Gerard and now these drug dealers. He needed to get a move on to start sorting it all out.

The next day at school went easier than Stiles had expected, the moment he cornered the twins and mentioned to them that Derek would be willing to allow them into his pack should they choose to leave the Alpha pack he could see the desire in their eyes, to be members of a proper pack again. This would be easier than he thought.

By the time school had let out for the week Stiles was exhausted. He’d had to go out twice in the middle of the night to check his wards, thankfully it had been nothing major and he hadn’t had to disturb Danny to go sort it out, he had woken up three nights screaming, hell fresh in his mind, Gerard’s smirking face right in front of him, his dad was on the night shifts and he couldn’t go back to sleep no matter how hard he tried, even Brimmy becoming the size of a lion and wrapping himself around Stiles did nothing to calm Stiles’ brain, there was too much going on and he needed to resolve some of it.

He was sure the twins would come to join Derek’s pack, they were supposed to be going to the loft tomorrow morning and that should seal the deal, as soon as that was done then they could arrange the meeting with the Alpha pack. Stiles had said that he would be there, to show the twins exactly who Deucalion was messing with, and then he had plans to meet Parrish and deal with the drug dealers. He had every intention that the meeting with the Alpha pack would go easily in their favour, but if for any reason it didn’t, then he wanted one less job for his dad to do. 

Danny came over first thing, noticing the bags under Stiles’ eyes and looking at him with worry, Stiles dismissed it easily and they went and sparred for a few hours before heading over to the loft. Everyone was waiting for them when they arrived and Stiles noticed the rest of the pack take in his exhausted appearance. He knew he should be taking it easy, but he had dreamed of hell again last night and he’d barely slept, he knew he wouldn’t be able to rest easily until they had taken care of this. 

The twins arrived a few minutes after their arrival and Stiles was a little bit grateful for it, the whole pack were looking at him funny, then looking at Derek who was glaring at Danny for some reason. Stiles really wasn’t sure what was going on there but now really wasn’t the time to be trying to figure it out. 

Derek was fuming, Danny was supposed to be looking after Stiles and he obviously wasn’t doing a good job. Derek wanted to be with Stiles, but he’d already acknowledged that it wasn’t an option, Stiles was with Danny and he was happy and Derek would deal with that, so long as Danny looked after Stiles, except he wasn’t, Stiles looked like he’d barely slept and then Derek’s minds just conjured up images of reasons why Stiles hadn’t slept, pictured him in bed with Danny, he tried to get control of his jealously, Stiles would hate him if he attacked Danny, he just needed to breathe. 

The twins looked around the gathered pack formally, meeting Derek’s gaze, their eye unsure and looking to Stiles for guidance. 

“It’s alright, he may look grumpy but that’s just his default setting.” Stiles said and Derek smirked slightly, trust Stiles to break the tension with a bad comment. 

“Stiles said that there might be a place for us in your pack?” Ethan asked, looking around the room nervously.

“Yes.” Derek said, “On a trial basis to begin with, but providing you can work with us, there’s no reason for it not to become permanent.” 

“What about the rest of our pack? What are you planning to do to them?” 

“Hopefully, nothing. We’ll be giving them to leave the area peacefully, if they don’t agree to that then we’ll do whatever necessary to protect ourselves.”

“They won’t leave easily, not with the mage in the area, Deucalion knows what a prize that is.”

“Oh,” Stiles said in surprise when all eyes turned to him, “I didn’t actually tell them that bit of information. They were happy enough to come without knowing.” He shrugged.

“Knowing what?” Aiden asked, looking like he was suddenly afraid this was a trap.

‘I’m the mage.’ Stiles said telepathically and watched as both of them jumped and stared at him in complete shock.

“You just…” Ethan said in shock,

“I heard, did you hear?” Aiden said turning to his brother. 

“Yes, you heard my voice in my head. Telepathic communication. Get used to it, or don’t, whatever. Either way suck it boys.” Stiles said.

“But…” Ethan said, obviously at a loss for words. 

“Okay, so now you know Stiles is the mage.” Scott said, “We’re trusting that you don’t tell Deucalion this.” Both twins nodded quickly. 

“What exactly is your plan then?” Ethan asked, Stiles explained it slowly, outlining a few other points that he hadn’t mentioned to the pack previously, they were all in agreement and Derek told the twins to arrange a meeting with Deucalion for tomorrow afternoon. 

“How come you don’t talk to us telepathically?” Lydia asked as Stiles was putting his jacket on, he stared at her surprised.

“I don’t know, I just figured you guys wouldn’t want me in your heads.” 

“Danny said you can’t read our thoughts.” Lydia explained.

“Yeah, but like, it’s still kind of intimate? Like not in a sexual way, but like, it’s very personal. I didn’t think you’d want that with me.” 

“What?” Scott said outraged and Stiles blushed, looking to Danny for back up and finding Danny deep in conversation with Isaac in the kitchen. He tried not to be annoyed by that.

“Well, Danny and my dad, they’re my pack and you guys, well, I’m not pack, not to you, so I didn’t think you’d want me acting like I was.”

“Stiles,” Derek said, sounding so sad that it shocked him, “You are pack, you’re always pack. I didn’t mean what I said, I was just upset, I thought you’d been working with Gerard and I felt betrayed.” Derek couldn’t believe that he’d just admitted that in front of the rest of the pack but he needed to make it clear to Stiles that he was pack. 

Stiles blushed bright red, nodding slightly as he put his jacket on.

“That’s good to know I guess.” He said, “Anyway I’ve got to get going.”

“Where are you going?” Scott asked and Stiles glanced across at Danny. 

“I’m, erm, actually, I’m going to the station to see my dad. I’ll come by in the morning then we can go meet the Alpha pack.” Stiles said, hoping they didn’t detect the lie in his words and rushing out of the door.

Danny stayed and watched a film with the pack, Derek was going to have a word with Isaac, it wasn’t right to be flirting with Stiles’ boyfriend, even if Derek kind of secretly hoped it broke them up, he didn’t want to see Stiles get hurt.

Stiles pulled up outside the station and Parrish jumped in the jeep a moment later. 

“Are you sure about this Stiles?” Parrish asked, “This could go horribly wrong and you’re just a kid.”

“I’m the Sheriff’s son. I’m the only one it’s going to work with. Come on, think how great it’ll be when you bring these guys in!” 

“Fine.” Parrish said, handing Stiles a broken phone that had a tracker in and then letting him drive to the bar they all knew the drug dealers hung out at. “Last chance to back out?” Parrish said as Stiles stopped the jeep.

“Never.” Stiles grinned before waving for Parrish to go hide in the bushes and lifting the bonnet up on the jeep. He squared his shoulders, knowing that tonight was going to be a long night but it would help his dad and that was what mattered. 

He walked into the bar, trying to looks as innocent as possible and assessing the people in the bar, he felt a jolt of relief when he recognized the faces of the two men, brothers called Luke and Jason Matthews in their mid-thirties, his dad suspected of being the drug dealers. He walked over to the bar sheepishly and the bartender checked him out.

“I don’t serve underage kids in here.” The man said and Stiles blushed.

“That’s not why I’m here.” He said loudly, trying to attract Luke or Jason’s attention. “I need your help, my jeep broke down outside and then I smashed my phone while I was trying to fix it.” Stiles said, holding up the broken phone for evidence. He saw Luke looking at him out of the corner of his eye and he knew the plan was working, “Look, I’m really sorry, but I just need to borrow your phone. My dad’s the Sheriff, Sheriff Stilinski, I can call him and tell him where I am and I’m sure he’ll have someone out here in a few minutes and then I’ll be out of your hair. Please?” He begged.

He saw both Luke and Jason walking towards him and he knew he had them. 

“Hey kid,” Luke said, eyeing Stiles up and down hungrily, Stiles tried not to roll his eyes, “You need some help.”

“Erm, my jeep broke down outside. I just need to borrow a phone.” He said quietly, trying to look as innocent and nervous as possible.

“You look familiar.” Jason said, “I think I’ve seen you around town, with the Sheriff maybe?”

“Yeah, he’s my dad.” Stiles answered honestly and Luke and Jason both grinned predatorily, it had nothing on the wolves.

“Come on, we’ll have a look at your keep, see if we can get it running for you again.” Luke said, steering Stiles back towards the main door, “Your dad doesn’t know where you are?” 

“No.” Stiles answered, “I was just heading back from my friend’s house and it broke down, I think it’s more duct tape than engine now, I really need to spend some time fixing it but you know, Dad’s never really around, sometimes I don’t see him for days at a time.” Stiles hoped he wasn’t laying it on too thick.

“Does he talk to you about his cases though?” Luke asked as Jason checked out the jeep.

“Yeah, most of the time, I mean he’s got this one at the moment, people dying from dirty drugs, he says he’s got a couple of suspects but he won’t tell me who they are.” Stiles moaned, bending over the engine to check what Jason was doing. 

“Oh really?” Jason said, sounding surprised.

“Yeah, I mean, I know he’ll catch them eventually, he’s good at what he does, but sometimes he just likes to bounce ideas off me if you know what I mean? Like, fresh set of eyes, I know eventually he’ll give me more information and then we’ll solve it.” Stiles rambled, his head under the bonnet, leaving himself wide open for attack, he didn’t like it, but he knew it was necessary if they had any chance of catching them red handed.

He sensed movement coming from behind him and a moment later something hard struck him across the back of his head and he lost consciousness.

Noah was out on patrol around the town, they’d had a call of a domestic disturbance at a place not far from Derek’s loft, when he got there he found out it was nothing, just a minor dispute over a burnt dinner that had gotten a little loud. He was just up the road from the loft when he felt the connection that he always had with Stiles disappear, it was usually like a small warmth in the back of his mind, not noticeable until suddenly it wasn’t there. Noah panicked slightly, the only time he lost connection with Stiles was when he lost consciousness. 

He rushed to the loft, knowing that Stiles was supposed to be there and burst through the door to see Danny in a similar state of distress.

“What’s happened?” Noah said bursting through the door, looking around for Stiles quickly. “Where’s Stiles?”

“What’s going on?” Scott said panicked. Derek hadn’t known what was going on when Danny had suddenly jumped up looking panicked and before they could get a proper answer out of him Noah had burst through the door. 

“Where’s Stiles?” Noah repeated.

“He’s with you!” Danny shouted.

“What!? No, he’s here with you.” Noah replied.

“No! He left earlier to go to the station and see you.” Danny said quickly.

“Someone tell me what is going on!?” Derek shouted and they both turned to look at him.

“The connection with Stiles just disappeared.” Danny said.

“Which means what?” Isaac asked.

“It means he’s unconscious.” Noah said, “Something’s happened. We need to find him. I’ll call in the station, someone might be able to find his jeep.” 

Parrish watched as Luke and Jason loaded Stiles into the back of their car, he hated this part of the plan, but it was the only way to find where they were making the drugs. He was ready to follow the tracker in the phone the instant they left, except they drove off and the tracker stayed where it was. Parrish rushed out to the jeep, finding the phone on the floor near the bonnet.

“Shit!” He cursed, slamming down the bonnet and jumping into the jeep, he had to follow them and get to Stiles. He managed to get the jeep started on the first attempt, thank god, then he raced out of the car park and after them. The Sheriff was going to kill him, why the hell had he thought this was a good idea!? If anything happened to Stiles, then it was all his fault. 

He managed to find them a few minutes later and he followed them subtly to the old warehouse estate. He stopped the jeep and made his way silently to the warehouse, peering through one of the old windows to see Luke and Jason along with three other men, they were tying Stiles to a chair and Parrish could see the various equipment off to one side that would be the evidence they needed to bring them in. Time to call the cavalry.

Stiles returned to consciousness slowly, his head ringing like a church bell, he blinked up blearily, blood dripping into his eye and saw Luke and Jason both staring back at him.

“You are going to tell us everything your father knows about us and then we’ll let you go.” Luke said.

“No.” Stiles replied, a smirk on his lips, ignoring the way that his brain seemed to hurt too much to even think. He’d taken a hard hit.

“I don’t think you understand. I wasn’t asking.” Luke said, pulling out a knife and trailing it slowly up Stiles’ leg, obviously trying to intimidate him, trying to make him feel powerless. Stiles couldn’t help but be reminded of George, he moved in a similar kind of way, the same small touches that made Stiles shiver, but he wasn’t George, and Stiles wasn’t the same kid he’d been back then.

“I don’t think you understand.” Stiles said, glaring at them “I’m not telling you a thing. So you can let me go now or you can try and find out what I know and it’ll be the last thing you do.”

Luke and Jason both laughed but Stiles kept his gaze on them steadily, already trying to feel his magic so he could loosen the binding on his hands, it was harder than he thought, but then he couldn’t really think straight so he was giving himself too much of a hard time about it.

“Stilinski!” Noah said answering the phone quickly, hoping it was Stiles, that he was fine.

“Sheriff, Sir, it’s Parrish.” 

“Parrish? What is it?” Noah said quickly, he needed to know where Stiles was. 

“It’s about Stiles sir.” Parrish sounded nervous.

“Stiles!? You know where he is? Is he with you?” 

“I know where he is sir.” Parrish replied, “But I don’t think you’re going to like it.” 

“Just spit it out Parrish, where’s my son?”

“They’re holding him in a warehouse in the old estate.”

“Who’s holding him?” Noah said terrified.

“Luke and Jason Matthews.” Parrish replied. There was sudden silence and Noah was turning bright red, Derek guessed this wasn’t good news.

“Tell me right now that you weren’t involved in a plan that meant handing over my son to two high level drug dealers?” Noah demanded but Parrish remained silent. “If anything happens to my son Parrish it’s on you. Now tell me where you are and I’ll come to you.”

“You should call in backup, there’s five of them, we’re at warehouse seven, I’ll wait for you outside.”

Noah glared at the phone.

“Fine. I’ll be there.” Noah fumed before hanging up. 

“What’s going on? Who are Luke and Jason Matthews?” Scott asked, “And why have they kidnapped Stiles?”

“It’s a human matter. We’ll deal with it.” Noah said. He felt the connection with Stiles start to thread back into his brain and he sighed in relief. “He’s conscious again.” He said noting the relief in Danny’s eyes too.

“Something’s wrong though.” Danny said, “I can’t get him to hear me.” Noah got the same result and ran straight for the door, the pack hot on his heels.

Stiles didn’t exactly like this part of the plan, the waiting for the rescue part, especially not when Luke seemed to really enjoy using that knife of his. Things had kind of gone downhill after that, Parrish must have been watching because Luke had barely even cut him when Parrish burst through the door, gun drawn and ordered them all to put down their weapons. Stiles did roll his eyes this time.

Needless to say Parrish ended up captured and Luke and Jason now realized that this was a set up. Stiles currently had several knife wounds in his stomach and Parrish was pressing desperately against Stiles’ stomach to stop the bleeding and eyeing the gash on Stiles’ head like it was the worst thing in the world. Stiles wouldn’t say it was the worst, but it still hurt like a bitch. 

‘Guys?’ Stiles said, trying out the connection, ignoring the pain in his stomach and the pounding in his head. He was pretty surprised when suddenly he had a chorus of voices replying to him, not just his dad and Danny, but Derek, Scott, Lydia, Allison, Isaac, Erica, Boyd, Peter, Cora and even Jackson, their voices filled with a mixture of surprise and anger. ‘I may be in a bit of a situation.’

‘Parrish told us.’ His dad replied and boy did he sound angry. 

‘Well, Parrish is currently next to me and I think he might be having a little bit of a mental breakdown. He won’t stop staring at me.’

‘They caught Parrish?’

‘Actually, he walked in here when they pulled the knife out and now they know about the plan.’

‘Knife?’ Derek sounded panicked, ‘Are you alright?’

‘Well,’ Stiles said, looking down at the knife wounds in his stomach, ‘It depends what you mean by that.’ He shoved the image of Parrish’s’ bloodied hands pressing against his stomach into their brains and Stiles could hear the chorus of voices that all sounded panicked now. ‘Guys, one at a time please, my head really hurts.’

‘Stiles, just stay calm, we’re nearly there.’

‘I am calm, it’s already starting to heal, I’m totally fine, but I think Parrish might be falling apart here, he looks like he’s about to start crying.’

‘He probably thinks you’re dying Stiles.’ Danny sighed, ‘And he probably blames himself for that, why the hell didn’t you tell me what you were planning on doing?’

‘Can you not yell at me when I’m bleeding to death?’ Stiles said, avoiding the topic. Derek growled in his brain and Stiles was not going to tell anyone that it kind of turned him on.

“Parrish, I’m fine, I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.” Stiles said, trying to reassure Parrish somehow, he allowed the scene in front of him to flow through his mind, allow the rest of them to see exactly what was going on in the warehouse, he hoped it would help when they planned a rescue mission. 

“We need to do something!” Luke was shouting, “The whole department is probably going to be here in a few minutes and we need to have a plan! There’s too much DNA against us here, we can’t run. Maybe if we burnt the place down?” 

“We do have a plan.” Jason said calmly, “We have hostages, we’ll use them to get out of here without any charges.”

“That’s not going to work!” Luke insisted, “The kid is nearly dead anyway, that means we only have one deputy, and do you really think the Sheriff is going to let us go after we killed his kid?” 

“Hey, not dead yet!” Stiles said, probably not the wisest move but he wanted them agitated and unsure, he could use that to his advantage. 

“Shut up!” Jason snarled and Stiles snorted with amusement, these guys were idiots. 

“I’m taking the kid.” Luke said, moving over towards them, “If they come after me then I’ll have him as a hostage.” 

“You’re not going anywhere.” Jason replied, “Besides, what are you going to do with him if you manage to escape? You going to finish him off?” 

“Yes.” Luke said, glancing at Stiles, “After I’ve had a bit of fun with him.” Parrish moved as much as he could while still keeping pressure on Stiles’ stomach, trying to position himself in front of Stiles, as if that would do any good. 

“Why do I always attract the middle aged perverts?” Stiles mumbled and Parrish glanced back at him, muffling his laughter ever so slightly. Danny was talking to him, telling him they were close by, that he’d be out of there in a few minutes. Stiles nodded but his head really hurt, he kind of wanted to go to sleep for a little bit.

“Stiles!” Parrish was grabbing his cheeks, gazing at him with worried eyes, he might have blacked out for a minute there, “Stiles! Hey, you’ve got to stay awake, just a little longer and then we’ll be out of here.”

Stiles looked around, Jason and Luke were over by the front door with the other three men, he must have blacked out for more than a minute. Okay, maybe he wasn’t doing as well as he thought. He spotted the knife on the table a few feet away and glanced at Parrish. 

“Can you get to the knife?” He muttered and Parrish glanced at it then back to Stiles.

“Probably, but I can’t fight them all.” 

“No. Cut me free. We can fight them together.”

“You can barely stay awake.” Parrish said horrified. 

“I’ll be fine.” Stiles said seriously, “But not if we don’t get out here. First thing I need is to be untied, so cut the rope.” Stiles said, ignoring the way his head felt like it was about to explode. 

Parrish looked like he was about to go for it when suddenly Luke was storming back towards them, a syringe held in his hand and coming straight for Stiles. Parrish leapt up to defend them but a second later was down again when Jason shot him in the leg. 

“Stay down or next time it’s a head shot.” Jason growled. Luke was grinning at Stiles, looking a little bit like a maniac, Stiles could hear the pack shouting in his head, telling him to do something, but between the pounding in his head and the blood spilling out of the stomach wounds he was finding it hard to keep the black spots in his vision at bay. 

‘Stiles,’ Derek’s voice came through loud and clear, ‘You need to get out. Get out of there right now.’

‘Geez, I hadn’t thought of that.’ Stiles said sarcastically, the fact that his words felt a little slurred even telepathically, probably wasn’t doing him any favours. He struggled against the bindings, willing them to come undone and when they failed to do that, he did the only thing he could think of, he threw his chair backwards. 

He landed on the floor hard, felt the chair splintering underneath him and his hands were finally free. Luke and Jason were both staring at him like he’d lost his mind, Parrish was staring at him in shock, seemingly surprised when Stiles got to his feet, fairly steadily.

“Alright, who wants their ass kicking first?” Stiles slurred, the bits of wood from the chair now gripped tight in his hands. 

‘They have a gun Stiles!’ Scott shouted mentally, ‘Just run!’ Stiles glanced at Parrish, now incapacitated on the ground, if he ran, and that was if he could run, the world was a little fuzzy, then they’d definitely kill Parrish, he wouldn’t let that happen. 

He wobbled slightly, closing his eyes for a second to try and get a grip and he knew that Luke and Jason would both take it as a sign of weakness.

‘Stiles!’ Danny called, ‘We’re here, we’re right outside. Just hold on. A few seconds.’

“I can do that.” Stiles said out loud, Luke and Jason looked at him like he’d lost his mind, Luke already coming towards him with the syringe. Stiles moved so quickly that he caught Luke by surprise, knocking the syringe from his hand and shoving him to the ground, Jason was behind him then, wrapping his arms around Stiles’ chest and pulling him backwards, away from Luke. Stiles threw his head backwards, felt it connect solidly with Jason’s nose and felt it shatter and then he was falling to the ground.

His head was spinning now, he could hear shouting outside, knew that rescue was only moments away, but there were more black spots in his vision. Jason was standing back up, throwing a hissy fit about his broken nose, Luke was grabbing at the syringe, heading towards Stiles quickly. Parrish was crawling towards them, desperate to do something, although he had no idea what and Stiles was trying to keep his feet under him. 

It sounded like guns going off and when Stiles glanced towards the door he saw the other three men firing out of the warehouse, he hoped his dad was safe out there. The moment’s distraction was all Luke needed and suddenly he was jumping at Stiles, pinning him to the ground, Jason holding his arm down as Luke started to inject him with something. 

Stiles managed to shove them off him, but his head was whirling now, they’d only injected him with a tiny amount, but it was enough to make him feel sick. He couldn’t get his feet back under him, he felt dizzy and queasy and weak. He needed to get up. 

“Stiles!” He could hear someone screaming his name but it sounded very far away. He decided that maybe he could close his eyes, just for a few seconds. “Stiles!” the voice said again, closer this time and it sounded like it was in great pain. Stiles wanted to reassure whoever it was that he was fine, he just needed to rest for a few minutes.

“They injected him with something.” Parrish was saying, “I tried to stop them.” 

“Stiles!” That was his dads voice, “Stiles, can you hear me?” Stiles blinked his eyes open slowly, he really needed to sleep but it was important that his dad knew he was okay.

‘I’m fine, just tired.’ Stiles told him. 

“Stiles! You need to stay awake okay? Just for a little longer, okay? Just until we get to the hospital.” He didn’t know why his dad sounded so panicked, he was fine, he’d just told him that.

“m’fine.” He mumbled, maybe his dad hadn’t got the message.

“Hey kiddo, there you are, how are you doing?” His dad smiled at him, but he was crying and Stiles felt so guilty.

“Fine.” Stiles said, trying to sit up slightly and not understanding why his dad wouldn’t let him. 

“You’ve got some bad cuts Stiles, you need to stay still.” 

“I’m fine.” Stiles insisted, although resting his eyes would be nice, he could close them, just for a few minutes. He felt a warm hand on his and looked to see Danny gripping his hand tightly. 

“You’re an idiot.” 

“I know that.” Stiles said, relaxing slightly as Danny drew a quick rune on the inside of Stiles’ wrist, one to give him energy, it made it a little easier to keep his eyes open. 

“You know what happens when you make these plans without me.” Danny said, looking a little hysterical, “Look what happened last time with Aamon. Do you want something like that to happen again?”

“Low blow.” Stiles said lightly, feeling his healing rune kicking in and already the blood flow from his stomach start to slow. 

“Well I’ve got to keep you from getting a big head.” Danny smiled gently and Stiles grinned.

“I thought you loved my big brain?”

“I do.” Danny grinned, “I love it even more when you actually use it.” Stiles laughed, grimacing slightly when he moved. 

“The paramedics are here.” Derek said and Stiles thought he looked to be in pain, he checked him over for injuries but he seemed fine. 

“You okay big guy?” Stiles asked and Derek frowned. 

“I’m fine.” Derek scowled.

“Good, then stop looking like someone just kicked your puppy. Nobody died.” He glanced around the room, “Okay, scratch that,” the three men by the door were dead and Luke and Jason were very dead. “Yeah, I guess you’re allowed to have your grumpy face on.” Stiles said. 

The first paramedic arrived then and Stiles spent the next ten minutes answering questions, being poked and prodded and lights shone in his eyes. Parrish was loaded into an ambulance and had already gone to the hospital by the time the paramedics decided it was safe to move Stiles.

“I’m telling you I’m fine. I just hit my head a few times.” Stiles said.

“And got stabbed.” Scott added with worry.

“Not stabbed.” Stiles argued, he couldn’t let the paramedics know how quickly he was healing, “They just cut me a few times.” 

“And injected you with something.” Lydia added.

“Okay, and that too. But I’m feeling much better already. I think really I just need to get a shower and go to sleep.” 

“Hospital first.” Noah said firmly.

“Dad, I’m fine!” Stiles whined, “There’s no point wasting time, I’m fine.” 

“Hospital.” Noah insisted. 

Stiles grumbled the whole way there and Derek couldn’t help but be relieved, when he’d burst into the warehouse, seeing Stiles lying so still, his heart had stopped for a moment, he couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, there was so much blood and Stiles wasn’t conscious and Derek felt his world falling apart.

Then when Stiles had finally woken up it was Danny that he turned to, Danny that he gripped tightly to and Danny that he joked with, that he said he loved. Derek felt his heart breaking because Stiles would never look at him like that. His mate had been hurt and Derek had been helpless to do anything about it, they’d died too quickly, too painlessly, he wanted to cause more pain, he needed to cause more pain, someone needed to pay for doing this to Stiles. 

Except then Stiles was turning to him, making a joke with him, telling him to cheer up, and Derek couldn’t breathe because he loved Stiles, he loved him so much and Stiles had nearly died and Derek could only watch from the side, never be the one to comfort him.

The whole pack followed the ambulance to the hospital and Derek was so relieved to see Stiles still alive, still talking and looking more frustrated by the minute. 

“I told you, I’m fine.” Stiles was insisting, the paramedics all looking at him like he was insane. “I bleed easily, it’s nothing.” 

The doctors took one look at the blood covering Stiles and rushed him through to the back room, then they just had to wait. It took just over an hour before a doctor finally came back out to see them, looking calm and relaxed which made Derek feel a lot better.

“Sheriff Stilinski?” The doctor said and Noah jumped up to hear the news. “Stiles is fine.” There were audible sighs of relief. “He’s taken quite a hit to the head, he’s going to have a headache for a few days and he’s not allowed to sleep for more than a few hours at a time, you’ll have to wake him up regularly.”

“What about the knife wounds?” 

“We had to stitch two of the cuts closed, but otherwise, they’ll heal on their own.”

“And the drugs they gave him?” 

“Not enough of it in his system to do him any damage, just made him a bit woozy, but that could be from the concussion too.” The doctor said.

“So he’s fine?” Noah asked.

“As fine as he can be. He seems to be handling all of this remarkably well, although he’s complaining about when he can go home.”

“Can he come home?” 

“Yes.” The doctor said smiling at the sheer relief on their faces. “I’ll just let the nurses finish their jobs and then I’ll bring him right out to you.

“Thank you doctor.” Noah said gratefully. 

Parrish appeared a few minutes after that, walking towards them slowly, supporting his weight on his crutches.

“I just came to see how Stiles was?” Parris asked while Noah glared at him.

“Of all the irresponsible things you could have done Parrish!?” Noah hissed, “Why didn’t you come to me? Why didn’t you tell me what he was planning?” 

“I didn’t know that it would go so wrong.” Parrish said quietly. 

“You didn’t know it would go wrong!?” Noah said incredulous, “You went along with the plan of a sixteen-year-old child! Of course it would go wrong!”

“I’m sorry.” Parrish whispered.

“You’re sorry!? Oh, well, I guess that makes it all okay then!” Noah shouted, they were attracting the attention of most of the people in the waiting room by now and Derek could smell the guilt coming off him, “My son could have died Parrish! My son! Because you didn’t think! Don’t bother coming into work tomorrow, you are fired!”

Parrish nodded, he could completely understand that.

“Dad!” Stiles said outraged, appearing from the back room, a large plaster covering what had been a large gash on his head. He was moving slightly gingerly but it was obvious he was fuming at the scene he’d just witnessed. “What the hell is going on!?” 

“Nothing.” Noah said calmly, “I was just informing Deputy Parrish that he was no longer required at the station.” 

“You can’t do that!” Stiles said angrily. “I made him go along with the plan.”

“Stiles,” Parrish started, “Don’t, it’s not worth it. I made a choice.”

“No you didn’t. I didn’t give him a choice dad.” Stiles insisted, “I threatened him, I blackmailed him, I made him do it and I made him keep secret about it.” Noah looked doubtful.

“I really don’t think that’s how it happened.” Noah sighed.

“Well, I’m telling you it is.” Stiles said, Parrish opened his mouth to speak and Stiles glared at him too, “Shut it Parrish. I threatened him, I told him he had to help me and keep it secret from you or I’d get him fired.”

“You can’t get people fired Stiles.” Noah said rolling his eyes.

“Oh really?” Stiles said, narrowing his eyes, “What happened to Deputy Marsh?” 

“Deputy Marsh?” Noah spluttered, “You didn’t get him fired! He was relieved from duty after it became evident that he’d been removing supplies from the office.”

“Yeah, and he was doing that, but he was also good at hiding that stuff, I’m the one that broke into his house, found where he’d been stashing all the supplies, moved them all to the kitchen table and then called the police.”

“What?” Noah said gazing at him in shock.

“Scott helped.” Stiles said and Scott blushed bright red.

“Dude,” Scott said, “That was supposed to be a secret.”

“So Deputy Marsh, that was you? But that was five years ago!” Noah said surprised.

“I’ve always been a delinquent dad, besides, he deserved it, I mean he was stealing, but he also told me to grow up and stop being such a fuck up over mum’s death, literally like a week after she died he was telling me to get over it. He totally deserved it.” Stiles said rolling his eyes “I threatened Parrish with doing something similar and he believed me. The only thing he’s guilty of is not underestimating me. And he saved my life dad. If he hadn’t had been there, I could have died.” Stiles said and Noah looked at him with a look of complete amusement and disbelief on his face.

“You know I could have you arrested for breaking and entering.” Noah smirked and Stiles grinned back. 

“On what grounds?”

“You just confessed.” 

“I’m on massive amounts of pain medication and I’ve just been held hostage, nobody would believe a word I said.” Stiles said smiling slightly as his dad pulled him into a hug.

“I’m so glad you are okay kid.”

“Me too.” Stiles muttered into his shoulder, “So, Parrish still has his job?” 

“Yes.” Noah sighed. “I don’t believe for a second that that’s how this actually went down. But,” He paused, “If you try anything like this again being fired will be the least of your worries, do you understand me?” Parrish nodded eagerly, looking at Stiles with amazement. 

Derek knew that look, it was like someone else had just realized how amazing Stiles was, he wasn’t happy about it. He’d accepted that Danny was good for Stiles, that they genuinely cared about each other, even if they weren’t overly affectionate in public for which Derek was eternally grateful for, he could see how much Danny worried about Stiles, saw the easy relaxed jokes and affection they had for each other. They cared about each other and Derek would be fine with that so long as Stiles was happy. 

But he really didn’t like Parrish, the guy had deliberately let Stiles walk into danger, deliberately allowed him to get hurt, Parrish would never be good enough for Stiles.

They left the hospital not long after that, Stiles eager to get home and sleep, he wasn’t sure why the whole pack followed Stiles and his dad back to their house, he assumed it was because the pack felt like they needed to be close at a time like this, when one of their own had been hurt. 

Stiles seemed more awake by the time they reached the house, Brimmy was waiting for him, pacing anxiously around the front room and practically jumping on Stiles as soon as he was through the door.

“Hey buddy, you okay?” Brimmy snorted at Stiles, “I’ll take that as a yes.” Stiles grinned, scratching behind Brimmy’s ears easily. Stiles headed to the kitchen, pouring himself a drink while Danny stared at him in amusement. 

“You’re supposed to be resting.” Danny said and Stiles smirked in reply, watching as the pack made themselves comfortable in his front room.

“You’re the one who drew an energy rune on me.” Stiles replied and Danny rolled his eyes. “Okay, you guys go home, I’ll sit and watch a film and that will help with the concussion and stuff.”

“Erm, no.” Danny said, looking at Stiles like he was idiot. “Bed. Now.” He said firmly. 

“How about no?” Stiles said while Noah and the pack just looked on in amusement. 

“How about go to bed and sleep or I tie you to the bed.” Danny ordered.

“Kinky.” Stiles teased and Danny blushed red. 

“Not what I was meaning and you know it.” Danny said, trying to ignore the way the pack was looking at him, he was pretty sure Derek was going to kill him, he could feel his gaze burning into the back of his head. Stiles rolled his eyes, obviously oblivious to the stares he was getting. 

“Alright, geez, when did you get so bossy?” Stiles said, already heading up the stairs, Brimmy at his heels. 

“Around about the time you decided getting yourself kidnapped was a good plan!” Danny called up after him. 

Noah looked at the pack in his living room, it was obvious that none of them had any intention of going home tonight, and they knew it was going to be a long night, even though Stiles seemed to be healing fairly quickly, he’d still suffered a head trauma and they’d still need to wake him every couple of hours. Stiles was hard to get sense out of when he’d had a full night’s sleep so Noah really wasn’t looking forward to it. 

Not to mention the fact that none of the pack seemed to know about Stiles’ nightmares and he didn’t want them made aware of that fact until Stiles was ready for them to know it. Danny seemed to read his mind and nodded.

“Don’t worry, I’ll wake him up.” Danny said, meaning for both the concussion and should he start to have nightmares, knowing he probably should care how Derek interpreted that, but not really that bothered, he still wasn’t sure he could trust Derek to look after Stiles, even if Danny had seen how completely and utterly devastated Derek had looked when they’d got to the warehouse earlier. 

They chatted for a little while longer, all of them just trying to process the nights’ events, before Noah appeared with several blankets and told them they could sleep here for the night, Danny headed up to Stiles’ room a few minutes later and grinned when he saw Stiles sprawled across the bed, Brimmy sleeping peacefully near his head and Stiles already completely out of it. 

He threw off his jeans and shirt and climbed into bed, gently shoving Stiles over and laughing to himself when Stiles rolled over and curled an arm around Brimmy.


	8. Chapter 8

Derek was dreading hearing Danny and Stiles in bed together, it wasn’t something he’d even thought would be an issue, but then Danny had disappeared upstairs and he had heard him going into Stiles’ room, had listened to the sound of clothes being removed and Danny crawling into bed with Stiles. He was pretty sure he was going to break something, especially if he had to listen to them having sex, he hoped that Stiles wasn’t up to do anything like that, god, why did he stay here? He should have just gone home, but he couldn’t leave knowing that Stiles was still injured. 

He must have fallen asleep for a little bit, he woke to the sound of an alarm and then Danny’s voice from upstairs and he saw Peter eyeing him carefully. 

“Stiles, come on, wake up.”

“What?” Stiles mumbled sleepily. 

“Come on, you’ve got a concussion, you need to answer some questions.” 

“Like what?” Stiles said, his voice still slurred from sleep.

“What’s your dad’s name?”

“Noah, obviously.” Stiles said.

“What school do you go to?”

“Probably the only one with more supernatural creatures than humans.” Derek fought back a grin at that one.

“Seriously Stiles.” Danny said.

“Beacon Hills High School.” Stiles grumbled.

“Alright, last one and then you can go back to sleep. What day is it?”

“I want to say still Saturday and then I can sleep more.” Stiles moaned.

“Okay, go back to sleep, I’ll wake you in a few hours.”

“I might have to kill you.” Stiles replied and Derek heard Danny laugh quietly. 

“You know he’ll have to find out eventually.” Peter muttered and Derek looked around the room at his sleeping pack. 

“He doesn’t.” Derek whispered, “He’s happy with Danny, he deserves to be with someone good for him Peter. I’m not going to ruin that.”

“You’re making a mistake.”

“It’s my mistake to make.” Derek argued, before closing his eyes and trying to go back to sleep. He woke up every time Danny’s alarm went off, listened to Stiles’ answers that got gradually more and more frustrated until just before dawn when Danny asked him what creature bothered him the most.

“How are you going to know if I actually know the answer to that one?” Stiles argued.

“Just answer and then we can go back to sleep.” Danny replied tiredly.

“Fine. I know you’re going to think I should say Aamon, but actually, have you seen Ms Blake at school?”

“No. Who is she?” Danny asked. “Or what is she?”

“I don’t know.” Stiles mused, “Something with magic though, but it’s dark, like her spark is dark.” 

“Really?” Danny asked, Derek heard the sheets shift slightly, “I haven’t seen her, I’ll look on Monday, we can figure out what to do then.” 

“Okay.” Stiles yawned loudly, “Are you going to let me sleep now? Especially if we’ve got the Alpha pack to deal with later.”

“There is no way we’re going through with that. Not now. Not when you’re still hurt.” Danny said and Derek found himself nodding in agreement, Danny was sensible, Derek liked Danny.

“Dude, we’re dealing with them. Now, let me get some proper sleep and then we can…”

“No. Stiles, we’re not doing that today, okay, here’s my condition, nothing strenuous this morning and then we’ll see about the Alpha pack this afternoon.”

“God, you are no fun.” Stiles mumbled, yawning loudly. Derek tried not to think about what Danny meant by strenuous, he couldn’t deal with hearing that.

He must have fallen asleep again because the next thing he heard was Danny coming down the stairs, looking still half asleep and heading over to make some coffee. Over the next half hour everyone else started to get up and Derek watched as the house came to life, Noah ordering Scott to make breakfast because they needed a decent meal. There was laughter and jokes, Danny smiling happily at Isaac which annoyed Derek more than a little bit, Danny was supposed to be dating Stiles, he glared at Isaac who frowned slightly but understood what Derek was thinking and moved away from Danny, trying to ignore the disappointed look on Danny’s face. 

Stiles stumbled down the stairs a few minutes later, his hair sticking up in a million different directions, his eyes still half closed from sleep, he looked adorable and Derek fought the urge to kiss Stiles awake.

“Morning sleeping beauty.” Danny said and Stiles growled at him.

“Some things never change.” Scott said and Stiles waved his middle finger in Scott’s general direction before heading towards the coffee pot. They watched as Stiles gulped down the hot coffee until he finally looked like an awake human being. 

“Your usually better at waking up than this.” Scott said.

“I don’t usually have some evil dictator waking me up every couple of hours and asking me the most idiotic questions.” Stiles grumbled and Danny grinned.

“Not the first time, probably not the last.” 

“Probably not.” Stiles said, “But I’m the one that usually does the waking up.” 

“Well, suck it up, that’s what you get when you decide to let yourself get hit in the head. Honestly, you really couldn’t think of a better plan?”

“We found the drugs, we got the dealers, well sort of, dead still counts as got right? I’d call that a success if I were you.” 

“Good job you’re not me.” Danny said. 

“Yeah, I think we can both agree on that.” Stiles grinned. “So, Alpha pack?” 

“Do you really think you’re up to that?” Noah asked nervously and Stiles nodded, already heading into the living room and curling up on the chair, Brimmy lying across the back of it. 

“Of course I am, I’d be even more up to it if someone had let me sleep.” He glared at Danny, no real heat behind it, and Danny just shrugged calmly. 

They started making plans but Derek kept getting distracted, taking in every detail of Stiles that he’d never noticed before, nearly losing him had terrified him and he wanted to make sure that he had every minute detail committed to memory. Not that it would matter, if anything happened to Stiles, Derek didn’t think he’d be far behind him.

By eleven they had a plan in place, the meeting wasn’t until two this afternoon so they had a bit of time to relax but Noah was looking at Stiles with worry.

“I’m fine dad.” Stiles said a moment later but Noah still looked unsure.

“I was thinking we should do some word association, check that your brain really is firing on all cylinders?”

“I’m fine, I’ve already said that.”

“And I want to make sure you are at a hundred percent if you’re going to do this, so humour me?”

“Fine.” Stiles said rolling his eyes. 

“What are you going to do?” Scott asked.

“Just a simple word association game, I say a word, Stiles replies with a work that he associates with it, just to make sure he’s thinking clearly.”

“But Stiles is really random.” Jackson said, “This won’t prove anything.” 

“It’ll prove it to me.” Noah said seriously.

“Let’s just get this over with.” Stiles said.

“Alright, let’s start simple. Bed.”

“Sleep.” Stiles replied before Noah had even finished the word.

“School.”

“Torture.” Stiles shot back instinctively rolling his eyes

“Car.”

“Jeep.”

“Scott.”

“Brother.” Scott blushed and Stiles grinned at him.

“Vampire.”

“Burning.”

“Light.”

“Dark.”

“George.”

“Hell.” Stiles grimaced, so did half the pack.

“Law.”

“Breakable.”

“Behave.”

“Rebel.”

“Derek.”

“My Alpha.” 

“Okay, fine, I think you’re functioning just fine.” Noah said finally, Derek was trying not to grin, Stiles looked a little bit mortified, like he hadn’t meant to say it, thankfully the doorbell rang and Stiles ran out of the room to get it. 

“Hey Parrish.” He said when he opened the door. 

“Hey Stiles, good to see you up and about, how are you feeling?” 

“I’m good thanks, how are you doing?” Stiles replied, moving out of the way so Parris could come into the house. Parrish saw them all staring at him and blushed slightly.

“Erm, hi.” He said a little awkwardly, waving from his crutches.

“Hi Parrish, what are you doing here?” Noah asked and Parrish glanced to Stiles.

“Actually, I was hoping to talk to Stiles.”

“Sure.” Stiles said easily.

“Erm, in private?” Parrish asked and Stiles looked a bit unsure but shrugged. 

“Sure. Come in the kitchen, do you want a drink?” Stiles said, poring himself another coffee, god knows he was going to need it to get through the day. He knew he wolves would still be able to hear what was said, but he couldn’t suggest anywhere else without it looking odd. He poured Parrish a cup of coffee and then settled into a seat. “So, what can I do for you?” 

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about yesterday.” Stiles waited for more of an explanation, “I saw those injuries Stiles, I felt your blood running through my fingers, I just don’t understand how you walked away from that.”

“I told you it wasn’t as serious as you thought it was.” There was a pause and Stiles took a gulp of his coffee.

“I erm, also, came to say that I thought you were awesome. Like, you handled the situation really well and I’m really impressed.”

“Thanks.” Stiles said, a little surprised, “I’ll have to get you to say that in front of everyone else, so far all I’ve got is that I’m an idiot.” Parrish laughed slightly and Stiles smiled back, still not entirely sure what Parrish was doing here.

“So, are you and Danny together?” Parrish asked and Stiles nearly spat out of his coffee.

“Erm…”

“Like, are you dating? Is it serious?” 

‘Dude,’ Stiles said to Danny, ‘Parrish just asked me if we’re dating and if it’s serious, what do I say?’

Danny snorted, no wonder Derek looked so constipated.

‘Well, I would suggest saying yes and yes unless you want him to ask you out.’

“Oh god no.” Stiles practically shouted and Danny snorted again, it had been clearly audible to all those in front room.

“What’s going on?” Noah asked.

“I just had to explain to Stiles that Parrish is hitting on him, honestly, so oblivious.” Danny said with amusement.

“I mean,” Stiles said horrified, “Yeah, we’re dating and yeah it’s serious. Sorry, my brain just got ahead of me a little bit.” Stiles rambled, taking another gulp of coffee.

“Okay,” Parrish said, sounding a bit disappointed, “I mean I did think for a moment that you might have been involved with Derek.” Stiles actually spat his coffee out this time.

“I’m sorry what?” He spluttered shocked.

“You and Derek.”

“Me and Derek?” Stiles repeated in shock, “As in, us? Dating? No chance.” He couldn’t believe that Derek would hear this, god this was so embarrassing, “No. Nope. Never going to happen. He hates me.”

“He doesn’t hate you Stiles.” Parrish said and Derek had gone very pale, he felt a little bit sick, he couldn’t believe Stiles could think that. 

“Alright, he tolerates me.” Stiles said, “But, dating, no. Derek’s not even gay!”

“I guess you didn’t see the way he was looking at you last night.” Parrish said, “He looked devastated.” Stiles stared at Parrish in confusion for a moment.

“Yeah, he probably was, I mean, he might not like me, but I’m useful.” Stiles said, “He was probably just worried that if something happened to me, other things might fall apart.” 

“Other things?” Parrish said confused, “Like what?” 

“Like, other private things Parrish.” Stiles said. 

“Alright, fine, well, I guess I just wanted to say thanks, you know, for keeping calm and stuff. I think they probably would have killed us both if you hadn’t distracted them.”

“It wasn’t anything special.” Stiles said blushing.

“Well, I thought it was.” Parrish said, “And, if things change, if you know, things change, let me know.”

“Erm, sure?” Stiles said in confusion, what exactly was supposed to be changing?

“With you and Danny.” Parrish clarified.

“Oh.” Stiles said blushing brightly. “Erm, yeah, sure I will.” He said, purposefully not looking at the wolves as he showed Parrish to the door.

Parrish waved again as he left and Derek glared at him until the door shut. Stiles rushed back into the kitchen, grabbed his cup of coffee and then walked back into the front room trying to act like none of that just happened. 

“I was thinking,” Noah said, “We should probably link up with wolves, telepathically, you know, I know you did it yesterday but you weren’t really making much sense, and it might be handy to have should we need it later on.”

“I guess.” Stiles said slightly unsure, if he was honest he didn’t really remember contacting them from the warehouse, he’d been trying to reach his dad or Danny and then they’d all just drifted back to him, glancing to Derek for confirmation. Derek nodded firmly and Stiles decided to start with Derek, he was the Alpha after all, it would make sense to start with him.

‘Can you hear me?’ He asked and Derek’s eyes went a little wide before he nodded. ‘Okay, cool, want to talk back to me so I know it’s working?’

‘How?’ Derek asked and Stiles grinned.

‘Just like that. Don’t panic, it’s not like I’m reading your thoughts or anything. I can only hear what you want to say to me.’

‘Okay.’ Derek said, ‘Can the others hear me too?’ 

‘Not yet, just me and you right now big guy.’

‘Okay, good. I heard what Parrish said by the way.’ Stiles grimaced slightly, ‘I also heard what you said.’ 

‘I’m sorry.’ Stiles said, ‘I didn’t expect him to say that and I just kind of panicked. I mean, I’m pretty sure you don’t want to kill me quite as much as you used to, but I was just surprised that’s all.’

‘Actually, I wanted to say I don’t hate you, and I do care if something happens to you, not just because you’re useful.’ Derek said, watching as Stiles blushed bright red. 

“Are you going to include the rest of us in this conversation?” Peter smirked and Stiles nodded quickly. A moment later he had the rest of them connected, allowing them all to communicate telepathically. It took a little bit of adjusting too, but eventually everyone got the hang of it. 

‘So do you seriously just sit in class and talk to each other?’ Scott asked.

‘Not just class, Stiles can maintain it long distance, which I’m sure you know, nothing more exciting than being woken up in the middle of the night because Stiles really has to know why they didn’t put Peeves in the movies.’ Danny laughed and Stiles blushed slightly before heading to the kitchen.

‘Yeah, well you’re the one who decided to send me images of all those runes in the middle of the night.’

‘I was reading. That didn’t mean you had to start drawing them on yourself just to see what they did!’ Danny replied and the pack burst into laughter. 

‘What happened?’ Scott asked eagerly.

‘It was like drinking about eighty cups of coffee.’ Stiles informed him, ‘I don’t think I slept for days, even after Danny washed them off.’ 

‘He put way too much belief behind it.’ Danny laughed. Derek could see that the rest of the pack were struggling slightly with just how much they had missed, Stiles, Danny and even Noah, had all these memories of things that had happened over the summer, things that none of the pack had been involved in, that none of them had even known about. He swore to himself that he wouldn’t miss anything else, that he’d try to be as involved in Stiles’ life as possible. 

By the time everyone seemed happy with the telepathic communication, Chris Argent had turned up late and he had to be brought into the loop, it was time to head out to meet the Alpha pack, Brimmy shrinking to the size of a kitten and sitting on Stiles’ shoulder, Derek wasn’t even going to think about how cute that was. 

‘You sure about this?’ Noah asked as they got near the meeting place. 

‘I’m sure.’ Stiles replied steadily, Derek thought he caught the flash of a blade as Stiles shifted, but the movement was so quick, he could have easily imagined it. 

‘Alright.’ Noah said as he moved off to the side along with Chris and Allison, ready to attack from the treeline if necessary. Brimmy flew off a moment later, Derek saw him land on one of the branches of the trees thirty feet above them. 

“Okay.” Danny said calmly, it seemed to put Stiles as ease slightly. Derek thought that he should probably be the one leading them into the clearing but when Stiles and Danny stepped ahead of him he allowed them to go first. They moved in sync, like it was something that they’d done a thousand times before, except this time Derek could hear the discussion in his head.

‘You take left I’ll take right.’ Stiles said. 

‘Okay,’ Danny replied.

‘Let me know the second you see movement.’

‘Got it.’ Danny replied. Stiles moved easily, stealthily, looking more like a predator than prey, Derek couldn’t believe how confident and in control he looked. 

‘Movement up ahead.’ Stiles said a moment later and it was a full thirty seconds before Derek saw the Alpha pack moving towards them. He hadn’t met Deucalion before and he was a bit terrified by the red eyes staring at them from the centre of the pack.

‘What the fuck is that?’ Jackson said and Stiles snorted slightly.

‘Eloquent as ever.’ He replied sarcastically. 

‘He has red eyes.’ Scott repeated.

‘I think we can all see that.’ Danny replied. ‘Demon?’ He asked Stiles.

‘No.’ Stiles said firmly.

‘Demon!?’ Scott squeaked.

‘Not the time.’ Stiles said.

“Alpha Hale, it’s nice to officially make your acquaintance.” Deucalion said and Derek growled. “Such a shame your mother never taught you any manners.”

“Our mother taught us plenty.” Cora snarled and Derek flashed a quick smile at her in assurance.

“Ah, the little pup.” Deucalion taunted, “Shame that your words don’t really matter to me. The only thing I want is the mage.” 

“That would be me.” Stiles grinned and Kali, Ennis and Deucalion all turned to look at Stiles in surprise. “Hi.” He said sarcastically.

“You’re the mage?” Kali sneered.

“Yep.” Stiles grinned.

“But you’re a child.” Ennis said in reply.

“Also correct.” Stiles said. 

“This will be easier than I thought.” Deucalion said and Stiles smirked.

“That’s where you’re wrong. I’m giving you the option to leave right now and you won’t be hurt. But if you don’t, you will die.” Stiles said, his tone deadly. Deucalion laughed and Derek glared at him.

“I am the demon wolf child. You can’t threaten me.” 

“I’ve met demons and you are no match for them.” Stiles sneered. 

‘What? When?’ Scott said in shock.

‘A conversation for later.’ Stiles said firmly.

‘Fine.’ Scott said sullenly.

“Oh child, you might have met what you thought were demons, but they are nothing compared to me.”

“You’re right, they were much better.” Stiles replied, ‘Ethan, Aiden, if you’re going to join us, now would be the time to do it. Danny, be ready with the spell.’

‘Ready.’ Danny replied. 

‘Okay.’ Both Ethan and Aiden said at the same time, looking a little unsure as they moved away from Kali and Ennis before taking the final few steps and joining the Hale pack. 

“Well, I can’t say that this particularly surprises me.” Deucalion said, “But it won’t save you, either the mage comes with us or you all die and we take him by force.” 

‘Okay, go for it.’ Stiles said and Danny started muttering under his breath. 

“Kill them all.” Deucalion roared a moment later. Kali and Ennis charged forward, stopping a moment later when they realized than neither their claws or fangs seemed to be emerging. Kali continued to press forward, surging towards Lydia, Stiles threw up his mist quickly, watching as it surrounded the pack, Kali was too close, she was going to connect with Lydia, Peter stepped forward, swiping quickly with his claws and efficiently killing her with minimum effort, the spell that Danny and Stiles had cast meaning that she wasn’t an Alpha werewolf at that point in time and therefore Peter didn’t gain her Alpha powers, they were all a bit grateful about that, Peter most of all, he’d come to realise that he never wanted to be Alpha, that he wasn’t made for that level of responsibility, he much preferred being a beta in Derek’s pack and advising his nephew where he could.

The moment her body hit the floor Ennis let out a roar and charged directly for Peter, Derek tackled him to the ground before he got anywhere near Peter and snapped his neck within a moment. Deucalion seemed to be panicking slightly now and Stiles was just smirking at him, still looking calm and in control.

“Okay, fine. I’ll leave.” Deucalion said, holding up his hands in surrender.

‘It was that easy?’ Erica said shocked. 

‘It’s never that easy.’ Stiles replied cynically. “Fine. Then leave. We’ll escort you to the boundary, once you’ve left then should you ever return then we will kill you.”

“Of course.” Deucalion said, smiling slightly. 

‘I don’t trust this.’ Danny said.

‘Me neither.’ Derek replied. 

‘I’m aware of that.’ Stiles said sarcastically. ‘I’m not a moron.’

‘What do you think he’s planning?’ Danny said and Stiles glanced at Deucalion for a moment.

“Would someone be able to help me? My eyes aren’t what they used to be.” Deucalion said, indicating his lack of sight.

Stiles grimaced, he knew exactly what Deucalion’s plan was. “Okay,” He said, taking a step towards him and then stopping when Derek’s hand touched his arm.

‘What are you doing?’ Derek hissed, sounding pissed beyond belief.

‘I’m giving him what he wants.’ Stiles said simply, ‘Which is me within striking distance. He’s playing the whole blind card, he can see just fine, he could use those keen werewolf senses of his, but he’s acting the innocent.’

‘So you want to be within striking distance of an Alpha wolf?’ Derek said, glaring at Stiles like he was the biggest idiot in the world. 

‘No. I want him to be within my striking distance. Now, let go of my arm.’ Stiles said it with such authority that Derek immediately let go and Stiles moved towards Deucalion. 

“Deaton said you sensed my magic.” Stiles said and Deucalion nodded, “Can you see my spark?” He asked and Deucalion nodded again.

“Very faintly, but yes.” 

“That’s good.” Stiles said grinning at Danny.

‘What does he mean by that?’ Lydia asked, Danny was the one who replied, he shoved a mental image through to them of Stiles, of how he saw Stiles, of the faint glow that surrounded his chest.

‘Wow.’ Scott said, ‘Dude, you are kind of beautiful.’ Stiles blushed slightly. Derek didn’t know what Scott was on about, Stiles wasn’t kind of beautiful, he was breath-taking, no wonder Danny was so attracted to him, he was mesmerizing. 

‘It also means that in a minute, if Deucalion tries what Stiles thinks he’s going to try, then it’s going to get a lot brighter.’ Danny informed them.

‘How bright?’ Jackson asked.

‘Bright enough to fry a vampire.’ Danny replied.

‘Might not come to that.’ Stiles said, ‘He might behave.’

‘Does he look like he’s going to behave?’ Danny asked, Derek looked at Deucalion, the man looked the epitome of innocence.

‘Not likely.’ Stiles replied.

‘Want to make a bet?’ Danny smiled

‘I bet cooking for the next week that he goes for it.’

‘I bet washing for the next month that he goes for the throat.’

‘No fair.’ Stiles whinged, ‘You know what these wolves are like with they’re throat grabbing.’

‘Can we please not joke about this?’ Noah said. ‘Just try and get him to leave peacefully.’

‘What’s your bet dad?’

‘I bet that if you don’t get a move on you’re coming to the station with me every day after school instead of spending time with Danny.’

‘Jeez, fine.’ Stiles said rolling his eyes. Stiles stepped up next to Deucalion, holding out an arm so that Deucalion could take it. Deucalion moved quickly wrapping a hand around Stiles’ throat, his claws digging in slightly. 

‘I win.’ Danny said triumphantly.

“Fantastic.” Stiles muttered under his breath. “Why are all you wolves so predictable?”

“Shut it mage.” Deucalion threatened, “Now, we’re leaving and if any of you try to stop me I’ll kill him.”

“You’re not going to kill me.” Stiles said. “Now you have two options here, you can leave peacefully, or you can burn. I’m going to give you to the count of three.” Deucalion slapped a clawed hand over Stiles’ mouth and Stiles rolled his eyes.

‘Danny, if you wouldn’t mind doing the honours please.’

“One.” Danny said and Deucalion glared at him, “Two.” There was still no movement. “Last chance.” Deucalion took a step backwards, still keeping Stiles tight against him. “You will die if you don’t let go of him.” Danny warned, Deucalion ignored him, “Fine. Your choice. Don’t say we didn’t warn you.” There was another step backwards, “Three.” 

Danny wanted the others to see what he saw, so he watched as the glow in Stiles’ chest started to glow brighter and he shoved the image into their minds, watching until it was so bright that he couldn’t watch any more, until the place where Stiles stood was just filled with a bright white light that was vaguely human shaped before squeezing his eyes shut.

Deucalion started screaming a few moments after Danny closed his eyes, his screams dying off a few minutes later until there was silence. 

‘It’s safe Danny.’ Stiles said and Danny blinked a few times as his vision came back to him. Deucalion was lying on the ground by Stiles’ feet, his eyes now burnt away completely, he was sobbing brokenly and cursing Stiles’ name. 

“You bastard, you bastard.” Deucalion was sobbing and Stiles looked so sad that Derek just wanted to hug him, instead Danny was rushing forward to grip Stiles’ shoulder.

“You gave him the chance.” Danny muttered and Stiles nodded but it was obvious that Stiles didn’t believe that. “He made his choice Stiles.”

“I’ll kill you. I’ll kill you, mage. You’re dead.” Deucalion screamed. Before any of them could do or say anything else Brimmy dived down from the trees and snapped Deucalion’s neck, killing him in an instant.

“Well, that was anti-climactic.” Chris said emerging from the trees. “I didn’t even get to shoot anyone.” There was a small laugh from Isaac, followed by Erica and then suddenly the whole pack was laughing, Derek figured it was just probably the relief of it all going so smoothly, other than Stiles’ handing himself over again, he was really going to have to get him to stop doing that.

Ethan and Aiden were both watching the pack nervously, Stiles grinned at them and they smiled back.

“So, you ready to give up that Alpha power?” Stiles asked and they both nodded.

“What?” Derek said in shock, he’d been under the assumption that the twins would remain Alpha’s but that they would just be in his pack.

“Hey, they don’t want it, it’s not like I’m forcing it on them.” Stiles said.

“I didn’t think you were.” Derek said, “I’m just surprised. How do you plan on taking Alpha powers away? Can you do it to anyone?” He asked a bit nervously.

Stiles ignored him, instead moving towards Ethan first and placing his hands gently on the side of his head. He knew that Stiles was talking to Ethan privately and it kind of annoyed him that he couldn’t hear what was going on. A few minutes later Ethan blinked his eyes back open and they flashed bright blue, a few minutes later and Aiden did the exact same thing, both smiling at Stiles happily. 

Stiles moved towards Derek, a visible glow in his hands that made Derek a bit nervous.

‘Trust me?’ Stiles asked, looking at Derek hopefully.

‘Always.’ Derek replied honestly and Stiles looked shocked for a moment before moving his hands up to the side of Derek’s head.

“Alpha Hale,” Stiles said formally, “The gifts of the Alphas Ethan and Aiden Steiner have been freely offered to you. Do you choose to accept these gifts?” Derek looked at Stiles in amazement, before turning his gaze to Ethan and Aiden, he’d never expected this, never asked them to do this.

“I do.” Derek said a moment later, feeling a little overwhelmed at the offer. A moment later he felt something, he couldn’t exactly place it, but it felt like a warmth flowing into his mind and through is body, making every aspect of him feel more enhanced, his sense of smell, Stiles smelled more incredible than he ever had before, his eyesight, Stiles standing this close to him made Derek want him more than ever, he felt stronger, more powerful, more everything. It was overwhelming. 

A minute later it stopped and Derek was kind of glad, he didn’t know how much more he could take. His eyes were glowing bright red, the eyes of his pack flashing in response to their Alpha, including Ethan and Aiden. 

“Thank you.” He said to them and they nodded. 

“We want our Alpha to be as powerful as possible.” Ethan said and then blushed when he realized what he had said, “I mean, if you would still be willing to give us a trial?”

“Of course.” Derek said. 

“Good.” Stiles said, “Glad we’ve got that all cleared up, now anyone else feel like going to sleep for a month or is that just me?” He said sighing tiredly.

“You feeling okay?” Noah said and Stiles nodded.

“Just a bit dizzy.” Stiles admitted, “Might have overdone it a little bit.” He said, a hand on his stomach and Derek was suddenly terrified, for Stiles to admit that he wasn’t feeling brilliant then he must be feeling awful. 

“Come on, we’ll get you home.” Noah said, going to take Stiles by the arm.

“I’m alright dad, I can get myself home, besides aren’t you supposed to be at the station soon?” 

“I can take you home first.” Noah insisted.

“But he’ll be by himself there.” Peter said, it was obvious that Peter was meddling, “What if he starts to feel worse?” Noah looked at Stiles with worry and Stiles glared at Peter.

“I’ll be fine dad. I’m just tired.”

“How about we take him to the loft?” Peter suggested, “He can sleep there for a while and then someone can run him home later when he’s feeling better?”

“I can look after myself.” Stiles grumbled.

“I think Peter’s probably right.” Noah said. 

“First time for everything.” Stiles muttered. 

“Go with them to the loft.” 

“Dad.” Stiles whined.

“No arguments.” 

“Fine.” He said sulkily.

Derek was really relieved about that, especially when Stiles fell asleep in the car on the way home. Danny woke him up when they got to their building and Stiles made it to the couch before he fell asleep again almost instantly. 

“Is he okay?” Lydia asked with worry.

“He’ll be fine.” Danny said, “He’s just exhausted, the transfer of power took a lot out of him, but he was insistent about doing it sooner rather than later. If he’s given the option he’d probably sleep through until morning.”

They all settled around the room, Scott put a random action movie that he knew Stiles liked on the television and they all relaxed, knowing the Alpha pack had been dealt with was a real weight of his mind, Ethan and Aiden volunteering to give up their Alpha status to be part of his pack made him feel more at ease with them than he thought it would and, really, he only had Stiles to thank. 

Isaac and Danny were squashed into a chair together and Danny kept shooting smiles at Isaac who kept returning them and Derek was getting more annoyed by the second. When Isaac went to grab a drink from the kitchen Derek went after him.

“Enough is enough Isaac.” Derek whispered, making sure that Danny couldn’t hear him, even if the other wolves could.

“What?” Isaac said looking surprised.

“Stiles and Danny are together. Please stop messing with that.”

“I’m not. We’re just being friendly.”

“Sure.” Derek said rolling his eyes sarcastically. “Look, they’re happy together, don’t ruin that.”

“I thought you’d want them to split up. Then Stiles would be single.” Isaac grumbled.

“No.” Derek said, “I want Stiles to be happy, if that’s with Danny then fine, I’ll deal with it. But you have to tell Danny that nothing is going to happen between you two.”

“Fine.” Isaac said a moment later, a sad frown on his face, “If that’s really what you want then I’ll tell him now.”

“I’m not trying to hurt you.” Derek said, “I want you to be happy too. But splitting up another relationship isn’t the way to do that. If Danny really likes you then he’ll end things with Stiles.” Isaac was silent for another minute.

“You’re right.” He said eventually and Derek sighed unhappily. 

“I’m sorry.” 

“I know.” Isaac said, “Still going to feel pretty crappy.” 

“I’m really sorry.” Derek repeated and Isaac smiled at him a little sadly. 

“It’s fine.” 

They headed back into the living room and Derek moved back to sit on one of the couches, Erica moved over slightly and managed to hit Stiles in the head in the process. 

“Jesus!” Stiles said jolting awake, gripping at his head slightly.

“Sorry!” Erica squeaked, “Accident!” Stiles glared at her for a moment before turning his attention to the film.

“Danny,” Isaac said, “Do you think I could talk to you for a minute? Upstairs?” Danny nodded quickly and Stiles grinned

‘Go get him big boy.’ Stiles said telepathically and Danny laughed gently.

“You seem happy?” Scott asked and Stiles realized he was grinning widely. 

“Oh, yeah, well,” He said lamely, suddenly recognising the film on the television and sitting up properly to pay attention.

“You don’t seem overly bothered about Danny disappearing off with Isaac?” Scott continued.

“Why would I be?” Stiles said, attention still half on the film.

“Because you’re dating?” Stiles laughed.

“Oh, yeah, that. Well hopefully not after today.”

“What?” Half the pack chorused and Stiles shrugged.

“It’s not like we’re actually dating, Danny only pretended to flirt with me to make Isaac jealous.”

“What?” Derek spluttered.

“Pretended to flirt with you?” Erica asked

“To make Isaac jealous?” Peter said raising his eyebrows in surprise. Stiles seemed to realize what he had said then.

“Shit. Isaac didn’t hear that, did he?” Stiles said glancing up the stairs. 

“Obviously.” Jackson said. 

“Shit.” Stiles cursed. 

“But you and Danny?” Scott said and Stiles shrugged.

“There’s nothing going on. I kept telling Danny that if he wanted to make Isaac jealous then he should pretend to flirt with someone attractive, but evidently he seemed to think I’d do the job.” 

“But you share a bed?” Scott said, still stunned by this news.

“So? Like I haven’t shared a bed with you a thousand times?” 

“Yeah, but that’s different. I’m your best friend. Danny is, just, well, he’s not me.” 

“You’re right.” Stiles said narrowing his eyes, “Danny is just the guy that was actually there for me when I needed him.” 

“Stiles!” Scott whined, “That wasn’t what I meant.” 

“What?” Stiles said, getting up from the couch, “What did you mean Scott? You mean that because you’ve been my friend longer that you’re a better friend?” Stiles hissed angrily.

“No,” Scott said in shock, “I just meant that we’re closer.”

“No we’re not.” Stiles said. “You weren’t there when I needed you.”

“I called!” Scott said angrily, “You just never answered.”

“You called when Allison was busy Scott!” Stiles was shouting slightly now and Isaac and Danny both appeared at the top of the staircase. “You haven’t been there for me Scott! I never abandoned you! I have been there for you whenever you needed me, whatever you needed me for! I passed messages between you and Allison, I helped you find your anchor, I covered for you when you destroyed the locker room. I did everything you needed and I never asked for you to do anything other than be there for me too.” He sighed heavily, “I spent all summer looking out for the town, looking out for the pack, keeping out creatures that wanted this pack dead so they could take over the town. I needed you Scott! I needed you to act like you gave a damn! Hell, I would have settled for any single one of you to pretend like you cared about me at all, it wouldn’t have been hard! Just a fucking phone call or a text or something! But, no! It was like I didn’t even factor in your lives. I didn’t abandon you but you abandoned me! So I’m really sorry that I made a new friend who was there for me, who cared if I lived or died, who looked out for me, who watched my back, who pulled me out of hell for god’s sake! Danny isn’t my best friend, he’s not my brother, he’s more than that. He’s the one who keeps me grounded, he’s my anchor, my dad and Danny are the only people who I know will be there for me.” Stiles said angrily and turned towards the door to leave, Brimmy at his ankles.

“Stiles!” Danny called, rushing down the stairs, “Wait up!” 

“No.” Stiles huffed, “Just stay here, sort stuff with Isaac, god knows you’ve waited long enough. I just need some space.” He said slamming the door as he left. He couldn’t believe Scott, couldn’t believe that he’d said that, it was totally normal for Danny and Stiles to sleep in the same bed, it wasn’t like they were attracted to each other, it wasn’t like anything was going on. God, Scott was such a jackass.

“What the hell did you do!?” Danny demanded as soon as Stiles shut the door. Scott looked at the ground guiltily. “What did you do Scott!?” Danny demanded, grabbing hold of Scott’s shirt and shoving him backwards. He couldn’t believe this, what the hell had happened while he was upstairs?

“Stiles told us that you aren’t really dating.” Allison said, “That you are just doing it to make Isaac jealous.” 

“No.” Danny said, “I was doing it to piss Derek off. There’s a difference.” Danny said, “But Stiles doesn’t know that because he’s an idiot, so why the hell did he blow up like that? What did you say?”

“I said it was weird that you guys shared a bed if you aren’t together.” Scott said miserably.

“So? It’s not like anything happens.” Danny said in confusion. “Not like you haven’t done it before?”

“Yeah, that’s what Stiles said, and I said it was weird because it would be normal for me but you weren’t me. And then he went off on one about how I wasn’t there for him.”

“You weren’t.” Danny said in disgust.

“I know.” Scott said, “I messed up. I always mess up with him at the moment.”

“Because he’s hurting Scott!” Danny said, unable to believe he even had to explain this to Scott, to any of them, “Because he spent hours being tortured by Gerard and none of you looked for him, none of you even noticed he was missing, and when he came back none of you realized how badly he was hurt. Because he spent all summer trying to stop creatures from attacking this town and having to kill them. Because he is barely able to cope or sleep with the guilt of killing those hunters despite the fact that there was no choice.”

“But he’s had you and he’s had his dad, you’ve been there for him to talk to.”

“Sometimes.” Danny replied. “But there’s other stuff that he won’t talk to us about, can’t talk to us about, because he doesn’t know how to deal with it. He needs his best friend Scott.”

“Well he seems to talk to you about more than he ever talked to me.” Scott said bitterly.

“Maybe I just actually listen.” Danny shot back. “Look, he’s struggling with a lot at the moment and he needs his friends around him. Now, you can either start being there for him or you can all get the hell out of his life. He doesn’t need people who are just going to act like friends when they need something.” 

“That’s not how it is.” Scott complained.

“Well it feels that way to me.” Danny said. 

“What’s he struggling with?” Cora asked, “He seemed pretty confident with Deucalion?”

Danny sighed, he had to tell them, but how could he? It was Stiles’ secret to tell. But they had to know. “Look,” He took a deep breath, “When Stiles said that I pulled him out of hell, he didn’t mean figuratively.” 

“What?” The pack said in confusion.

“He meant literally.” There was silence and Danny continued, “There was a demon, Aamon, he murdered a woman, opened a portal to bring demons to the town, to bring literal hell on earth. Stiles was there, he stopped him, he managed to close the portal but Aamon dragged Stiles into hell with him.”

“What?” Derek said in disbelief, his heart rate soaring.

“He went to hell and, really, he barely talks about it. He makes jokes about it, really shitty jokes about eternal damnation,” Danny shook his head, Stiles always made awful jokes, “But he barely talks about it, not about the important stuff, about what it was like.” 

“He went to hell?” Peter said, Danny nodded, “And you pulled him out?” Danny nodded again.

“Hell?” Scott stuttered. “Like hell? Like Lucifer? Like fire and brimstone?”

“Yes.” Danny said. 

“No.” Erica said, “That can’t have happened.”

“Well it did.” Danny said, “So deal with it.” 

“But, I don’t understand,” Lydia said, “He went to hell?” 

“Yes.” Danny repeated. “What is there not to understand?”

“But from everything I’ve read it’s a different dimension,” Lydia explained, “I mean it’s all hypothetical, and it can’t be right, but, I, time moves differently there?” Danny looked at her shocked, he didn’t think any of them would know that, “But that’s wrong, right?” She asked hopefully and Danny shook his head slowly, watching as Lydia’s eyes filled with tears and she looked at him horrified. “How long was it for him?” 

“What do you mean?” Scott butted in.

“What I mean,” Lydia glared at him, “is that however long it was here, it was much longer for Stiles. So my question is how long was it for Stiles?” The whole room was silent as Danny looked to be in physical pain divulging this information. 

“Stiles says he lost track of time. He says it was about six years, but from what I’ve read it was closer to ten.” Danny said in a rush. 

The whole room descended into silence. 

“Ten years?” Scott said numbly, Danny nodded and tears started to spill down Scott’s cheeks. “That can’t be right. He can’t have been gone that long.” 

“He was.” Danny said firmly, “He said that Brimmy was the only thing to keep him half way sane there but he still has nightmares, he needs his friends around him and not to be completely judgemental and shitty to him at every opportunity.”

“I didn’t mean to.” Scott muttered, “I don’t mean to. I just, I messed up, I seem to always be messing up with him.” 

“Well, you just need to keep trying.” Danny insisted, “Stiles needs you Scott. Don’t abandon him again.”

“Brimmy was in Hell with him?” Isaac asked. 

“Yes.” Danny said, “Stiles saved him too. Brimmy was the only thing remotely supernatural down there, the rest were humans once, they’d turned into demons over the years down there. That’s what he was hallucinating about with Deaton’s spell, that he was back in Hell.”

“How did you break him out of that?” Peter asked.

“He was hallucinating that you were all down there too, that you were, we were all dead. I told him that we couldn’t get down there, that we weren’t down there and it was enough to break him out of it, at least slightly.”

“But why wouldn’t we be down there?” Jackson asked.

“Supernatural creatures don’t go to Hell. I don’t know where they go, but it’s not Hell, not from what Stiles saw.”

There was more silence as everyone processed that, that Stiles had seen Hell, that he had survived that.

“I should go talk to him.” Scott said. 

“Probably.” Danny said, worried that Scott could do more harm than good as he disappeared from the loft. 

“So, you were pretending to flirt with Stiles to make Derek jealous?” Isaac asked and Danny sighed, he could really do without this conversation right now. 

“No to make him jealous,” Danny said glaring at Derek, “To make him realize that he couldn’t just pick and choose what he wanted from Stiles. That there’s always other options. Also, maybe just to piss him off a little bit because I saw how broken Stiles was after that night, after what Derek said to him, after what you all said to him. Maybe I just thought you needed to suffer a little bit in return.” Danny said and Derek nodded, Danny was right, he definitely deserved to suffer for this, he’d pushed Stiles away and it had nearly got him killed. It was only because of Danny that they had Stiles at all.

“Thank you.” Derek said and Danny looked at him in surprise. “You’re right. I messed up, we all did in one way or another, but I majorly messed up. But thank you for looking after Stiles, for keeping him alive. For giving us the chance to fix this.” 

Danny looked surprised at Derek, as if he hadn’t expected Derek to recognize how much he’d messed up. 

“Yeah, he didn’t make it easy.” Danny said, “It’s like he hears the word danger and runs straight for it.” 

“I’ll do better,” Derek said solemnly, “I promise I’ll do everything I can to protect him.” 

“He doesn’t need your protection.” Danny said, “He knows how to protect himself. What he needs are friends who care about him.”

“I can do that too.” Derek said.

“I know you care about him,” Danny said hesitating, “But if you hurt him, if you ever say anything like you’ve said before then Brimmy will snap your neck without hesitation. You understand?” Derek nodded firmly.


	9. Chapter 9

Stiles managed to get all the way out of the building, his anger at Scott building, before he realized he had no way to get home. His dad had driven him to the meet with the Alpha pack and Danny had driven him to the loft. He could call his dad and ask him to come pick him up, or he could tell Danny that he was taking his car and Danny would just have to find his own way home, or he could walk. He sighed heavily, he guessed the walk would do him good, give him time to clear his head and calm down, but he was tired, he didn’t want to walk all the way home.

He managed to make it to the end of the block before he swayed unsteadily, yeah he was really exhausted. Brimmy was next to him in an instant, already the size of a horse and looking at him with worry. 

“I don’t suppose you want to give me a ride?” He half joked, surprised when Brimmy lowered himself slightly to the ground so that Stiles could climb onto his back, “Are you serious right now!?” Stiles said shocked, Brimmy rolled his eyes, “Honestly,” Stiles said climbing nervously onto Brimmy’s back, “You have got to be the most sarcastic dragon I’ve ever met.” He said a moment before Brimmy rose up from the ground, flapping his wings and easily carrying them skyward. “Oh my god.” Stiles said as the ground disappeared into the distance, within moments they were soaring above the clouds and the view and the feeling of it all nearly took his breath away. The whole town was laid out before him, if he concentrated he could almost see his wards surrounding the town, Brimmy flew through the clouds easily, it felt like the most natural thing in the world. Stiles just stared at the world below him, unable to believe that Brimmy would ever want to be down there when he could be up here. 

They didn’t take the direct route back to his house, instead choosing to fly around the town a few times, Stiles feeling as his wards came closer, sensing they were still intact and that everything was okay before they finally headed home. He wanted to do that every day. 

They landed in the back garden, Brimmy looking at him in amusement as Stiles slid from his back looking a little stunned.

“That was amazing.” He muttered, “Can we do it again some time? Would you mind?” Brimmy snorted and shoved an exhausted Stiles towards the back door, already shrinking back down to a more manageable size. “I’m taking that as a yes.” Stiles mumbled, already falling onto the couch so he could go back to sleep. Brimmy curled up next to him, his warmth making Stiles slip into sleep even more easily. 

He was woken what felt like ten minutes later by a knocking on the door, when he glanced at the clock it was only ten minutes and he groaned. He really need to sleep if there was any chance of him going to school tomorrow. 

Scott was standing on the doorstep looking like a lost puppy and Stiles sighed before letting him in. 

“Wait.” Scott said when Stiles opened his mouth to speak, “Sorry, just wait, please.” Stiles crossed his arms and waited, “I’ve been thinking all the way across here, about what to say, how to fix things between us. Because I’ve messed up Stiles, I really messed up. And I want to fix things. I know it’ll take time to fix things Stiles, for you to learn to trust me again, but I want that more than anything. So I’ll do whatever it takes for you to forgive me Stiles, if you think you can?” 

“I don’t know Scott…” 

“Please Stiles, I know I’m a screw up, but you balance that out, I mess up and you tell me how to fix it. So please, can you just tell me how to fix this? Please Stiles, I can’t lose you. Please.” Scott begged. “You don’t have to make a decision now, and if you decide that you can’t forgive me then I’ll accept that if that’s what you want. Just think about it please?” 

“I don’t need to think about it Scott.” Stiles said, “I’m not going to be able to forgive everything straight away, but I meant what I said this morning, you’re my brother Scott, you’ll always be in my life, but I also meant what I said this afternoon, you weren’t there when I needed you and I can’t just forget that.”

“I know.” Scott said, “But I’ll do whatever you need me to do to prove that I will always do my best to be there for you in the future, and not just with the big things, I’ll be here for the little things as well, when you need someone to just sit and eat pizza, or watch crap films or just to talk about things or just whatever.”

“Okay.” Stiles said, “But not now. I’m tired.” 

“Okay buddy. I’ll see you in school in the morning?” 

“Yeah. Sure.” Stiles said already thinking about how good it was going to feel to get into bed.

“You did good today by the way,” Scott said as he headed towards the door, “With the Alpha pack, with Deucalion, you did the right thing.” Stiles looked at him in surprise.

“Thanks.” He said quietly and Scott nodded, looking like he wanted to hug Stiles but not sure if he would be allowed. Stiles moved forward and pulled Scott into a hug, relaxing after a moment, hugging each other for the first time since before the summer. Scott rested his head on Stiles’ shoulder, relieved that he at least had a chance to fix this.

“I’ll see you in the morning.” Scott said and Stiles nodded. 

He didn’t sleep easily, he dreamt of hell, of Deucalion screaming, of the pack dead at his feet, his sword covered in blood. He’d killed them, he’d killed them all. He woke screaming, clutching at his chest in panic at the now healed wounds there. 

He spent a long time in the shower, trying to shake off the dreams, trying to get his brain in order before he went to school. His dad was still at the station, he had the house to himself, so he wrapped a towel around his waist and headed back to his bedroom to get dressed. 

“Jesus Christ!” He shouted in surprise when he walked into the bedroom and saw Derek stood by the window, he blushed brightly when he saw Derek staring at him, no doubt staring at the hideous scars covering his body, “Do you not know how to use a door!?” He said angrily, already pulling a t-shirt over his head.

Derek had been completely stunned when Stiles had walked into his bedroom, towel wrapped around his waist, water still dripping down his body, and those tattoos really shouldn’t be as appealing as they were but all Derek could think about was licking the water from his body. God, thank god that Stiles couldn’t smell his arousal, then suddenly Stiles was turning away from him, grabbing a shirt and pulling it over his head, Derek got a brief glimpse of thin scars across Stiles’ back but before he got a chance to see anymore they were covered by his shirt. 

“Have you forgotten how to use words now too?” Stiles said angrily and Derek realized that he hadn’t actually managed to speak yet. Derek was still trying to gather his thoughts; of all the things he’d expected it hadn’t been for Stiles to turn up half naked. By now Stiles was shoving his feet angrily into a pair of jeans, dropping the towel as he buttoned them up over his slim hips. “You know it’s rude to stare?” Stiles said sarcastically,

“I’m sorry.” Derek managed to get out eventually, Stiles stared at him, his mouth hanging open in shock, “I’m sorry.” Derek said again, “What I said that night, I didn’t mean it. Not really. I was just, my head was all over the place, I just wanted you to know I was sorry.” 

“You said sorry, three times, in a sentence.” Stiles said in shock. 

“Is that literally the only thing you heard?” Derek sighed. 

“Yes.” Stiles said firmly, “You apologized, you never apologize. It’s a big deal.” 

“I’ll apologize over and over again if there’s any chance you can forgive me.” Derek said and Stiles smiled slightly. 

“Scott pretty much said the same thing last night.” Stiles said. “I don’t get why everyone suddenly seems so desperate for my forgiveness?” Derek paused, “I assume Danny spoke to you after I left?” 

“Yes.” 

“What did he say?” 

“He told us about what you’ve been through. About how you met Brimmy.” Derek said quietly. 

“What did he tell you?” Stiles said looking nervous.

“He told us that Aamon dragged you to hell, that you were there for a long time, he said closer to ten years than six, that you met Brimmy there, that you saved him too.” Brimmy snorted happily from the bed. 

“That’s it?”

“He also said that we couldn’t go there, because we’re supernatural, that Brimmy was the only supernatural thing there that wasn’t a demon. And that that’s what you hallucinated about when Deaton cast that spell.” Derek admitted.

“Okay.” Stiles said.

“Is there more? That we need to know about?” Derek asked and Stiles gave him a sad smile. 

“That you need to know? No.” He said, “Now, I’m going to school, do you need something?”

“No.” Derek said, “I just wanted you to know that I was sorry and that I don’t deserve your forgiveness, but I hope you can.”

“I forgave you a while back Derek, I always understood why you were so mad, because you thought I’d betrayed you. I’d probably have reacted the same way you did.” Stiles said, acting like it was no big deal but Derek could still feel the hurt rolling off Stiles.

“I’m still sorry. I lashed out, I said things I didn’t mean, things that I knew would hurt you because I wanted you to hurt.” He said quietly.

“Well, you managed to do that.” Stiles said, trying to sound light hearted and instead his voice came out rather dull. He shoved his books into his bag before Derek could say anything else, he didn’t want to have to deal with Derek’s guilt. 

“I’m so sorry Stiles.” 

“So you’ve said.” Stiles replied, “Look, I’m tired and I’m running late for school. How about we talk later? Maybe I can come over to the loft later?” 

“Yes.” Derek said eagerly, “I mean,” he cleared his throat, “Yeah, that would be fine with me, the whole pack usually comes over after school. I’m sure the rest of them want to talk to you too.” 

“Okay.” Stiles said, looking at Derek a little oddly. “I’ll come over later then. Now, get out of my house.” 

“Going.” Derek said, already retreating to the window and jumping out.

“Or you could use the door like a normal person!” Stiles called after him and Derek grinned. He was going to fix this.

Stiles was stood in the queue to get lunch, the pack were sat at a nearby table and he could see Danny stood talking to Jackson, looking like he might be about to join them, Stiles wondered vaguely if he wanted to join the pack, if he wanted to sit with them when he could go out to the woods, see if Brimmy was around, go flying again. He barely noticed when a girl walked up to him, he’d seen her around before, he was pretty sure her name was Karen, but she wasn’t in any of his classes so he couldn’t be sure. 

“Hey Stiles.” She said in greeting and he half smiled at her, not entirely sure why she was talking to him. “So my mum works at the hospital,” She said loudly and Stiles nodded, not sure where she was going with this, “She said that you were admitted on Saturday because some guys stabbed you.” Stiles flushed as people turned to look at him, including the pack, none of whom were rushing over to help. “Apparently because you were helping your dad with some drugs case that they were involved with and they beat you up pretty badly and stabbed you?”

“Erm,” Stiles stammered, “Well, they didn’t stab me, they just kind of cut me a little bit.” Stiles said, glancing at the curious faces around him. 

“Well,” Karen said, leaning forwards slightly, “I happen to really like guys with scars.” She said, practically nibbling on Stiles’ earlobe. 

‘Okay, help needed here guys!’ Stiles called mentally, relieved when Allison strolled casually across, grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him away, glaring at Karen the entire time. Karen looked massively disappointed and Stiles grinned at Allison in relief. 

“Thanks.” He muttered under his breath and Allison laughed lightly.

“Honestly, Alpha pack of werewolves and you don’t bat an eyelash, girl in your school and you look like you’re about to faint.” Allison smirked.

As soon as they got to the table Allison pushed him down into a seat and he nodded at her gratefully again. He didn’t miss the money that the whole pack passed to Danny who was grinning wickedly. 

“Thanks man.” Danny said, clapping Stiles on the shoulder before sitting down next to Isaac. Stiles had no doubt that they were holding hands under the table and he smiled slightly, he was glad Danny was happy. 

“What did I do?” Stiles asked, unsure what Danny was thanking him for. 

“We took bets on how long it would take for you to realize she was flirting with you.” Dany said matter of factly, “These idiots thought you’d actually figure it out, I, of course, knew better.” 

“She wasn’t flirting with me!” Stiles hissed in disbelief. “I think she might be supernatural or something, definitely evil plan in mind, maybe she’s planning on stabbing me too, did she smell supernatural to you guys?” 

“And just to prove my point.” Danny grinned while the rest of the pack groaned.

“What point?” Stiles said confused.

“That you can be completely oblivious sometimes.” Danny smirked.

“I am not.” Stiles said, “I could definitely tell if someone was flirting with me, that wasn’t flirting. That was eyeing me up to see if she could eat me!” He insisted.

“She definitely wanted to eat something you could offer.” Erica muttered from opposite him and Stiles blushed. “Not that I disagree with her at all.” She added and Stiles blushed even brighter red. 

“Hey Stiles,” Karen appeared next to the table and Stiles glanced up at her in shock. “I just wanted to give you my number, you know, in case you ever want to meet up outside of school.” She said, already scrawling a number onto a piece of paper and shoving it into Stiles’ hand. He just stared at her dumbly. “Okay, see you around.” She said waving as she left to join her friends, all of them looking at him oddly.

“Okay, that was weird.” Stiles said, “Definitely planning on killing me.” He muttered. Jackson looked at him like he was the biggest idiot on the planet, Stiles was kind of used to that look.

“You know not everyone wants to kill you right?” Jackson said and Stiles shrugged.

“Speaking of which.” Stiles said turning to Danny, “Did you get a chance to see Ms Blake yet?”

“Why what’s wrong with Ms Blake?” Scott moaned. 

“She’s a magic user.” Danny said quietly, “From the look of her spark I’d say dark magic. Possibly even ritual sacrifice.” 

“Like human sacrifice?” Isaac asked and Danny shrugged.

“I can’t say for sure, she’s good at hiding it, but you’re right, there’s definitely something off about her. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s looking for the mage too.”

“Why?” Lydia asked.

“Well, the magic of a mage is pretty much the purest magic you can have, their magic is like a holy grail to any druids or sparks.”

“But not witches?” Ethan asked.

“No. Different type of magic,” Danny said, quickly explaining to them all how his magic was different to Stiles’. “But, obviously, Ms Blake is a druid, definitely a dark one, if she was to find out about Stiles then she’d definitely try and steal his magic.”

“Great.” Stiles groaned, “Just what I need.” 

“Just, don’t use any magic around her and keep your head down in her classes, if it comes to it, we take her out.” Danny said and Stiles nodded.

“Okay, so on to point number two, what about Gerard?” Cora said, “It doesn’t sound like he’s the kind of guy who’s going to just slink off without a fight. He’s probably planning something.”

“Well, he hasn’t left town, I’d feel if he went through the wards. So he’s still here, like you say, probably planning something.” Stiles said.

“You can feel that?” Aiden said in shock and Stiles shrugged. He concentrated on the feel of his wards, on the warmth they gave him, he opened his mind, allowing the pack to feel what he was feeling, ignoring the looks of complete shock they gave him. 

‘I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this.’ Boyd muttered telepathically and Stiles grinned. 

‘I’m trying to sleep, Derek is already annoying me, running around the loft like an insane man, now you.’ Peter sighed and Stiles grinned, he hadn’t meant to include Peter and Derek in the feeling, but annoying Peter always made him feel a bit better. 

‘I am not running around the loft.’ Derek said, sounding disgruntled. 

‘Really?’ Peter said smirking, ‘So what is it that you are actually doing then dear nephew?’

‘Shut up Peter.’ Derek growled. Stiles was kind of curious what Derek might be doing but he chose to ignore that in favour of his wards.

‘So this is what your wards feel like?’ Lydia asked and Stiles nodded.

‘What does it feel like when someone comes through?’ Cora asked, Stiles spent a moment, trying to conjure the feeling of one of his wards breaking slightly, of the cold that came from it as a supernatural creature came through.

‘Wow.’ Erica said and Stiles grinned.

‘It varies, depending on what comes through the ward, most of the weaker stuff can’t get through the wards, but the stronger things can, and then when they come through, depending on what they feel like, we have a sort of plan for how to deal with them.’

‘This is the most amazing feeling.’ Scott said, ‘It feels safe,’ he blushed, ‘Sorry, that sounded stupid.’

‘No.’ Stiles said, ‘I don’t mind, it makes me feel safe too.’ He paused, ‘But it’s not the most amazing feeling.’ He could feel the curiosity coming from all of them and he grinned, thinking instead of Brimmy last night, of flying above the clouds, the whole town spread out below him, Brimmy’s scales under his fingertips, his huge wings lifting them higher, the pure joy that Stiles felt in that moment.

“No fucking way!” Danny said loudly and half the room turned to look at him. ‘Brimmy took you flying?’ He said telepathically, the amazement evident in is voice, ‘Oh my god, why wasn’t I there? That would have been so awesome. How come you did it without me?’

‘Well, I think you were probably making out with Isaac at the time.’ Stiles replied grinning, ‘I mean, how come you did that without me?’ He deadpanned and Danny grinned.

‘Very funny. But dude, come on, we have to go flying, do you think he’ll let me come along?’ Danny said excitedly. 

‘I don’t know.’ Stiles shrugged, ‘I’m not sure if it was like a one-off thing?’

‘Please can we try later?’ Danny begged and Stiles nodded slowly.

‘Why what’s happening later?’ Isaac asked.

‘I’m just going to go hang out with Stiles for a bit before we come across to the loft.’

‘We’ve got lacrosse tonight.’ Boyd said and Danny nodded.

‘Yeah, but we’ll be like an hour, maybe a bit longer, then we’ll come across. Not a big deal.’ Stiles said, he wasn’t quite ready for them to know that Danny and Stiles fully intended to spar until Stiles felt that Danny could defend himself, he was getting better, much better, but Stiles was still holding back a lot of the time. 

‘What are you going to be doing?’ Scott asked curiously. ‘Can we come hang out too?’

‘Erm,’ Danny said, ‘Actually, it’s kind of private.’

‘You’re not going out hunting monsters are you?’ Peter asked, ‘Not without us?’

‘No.’ Stiles said honestly, ‘We’re just going to hang out, that’s all.’ 

‘You’re not secretly dating are you?’ Isaac asked and Stiles snorted.

‘Not a chance.’

‘Why do you say it like that?’ Danny teased, ‘I’m an awesome boyfriend.’

‘Dude, no. Isaac, he snores so loudly it’s like a train rolling through your room at three in the morning, and he can’t cook at all, he tried to make us beans on toast and he burnt it, he nearly set the kitchen on fire.’

‘I did not!’ Danny said, blushing in embarrassment.

‘Don’t even get me started on the time I woke up to find him doing bloody yoga! In my room! At five in the morning! Who does that?’

‘People who appreciate and respect their bodies.’ Danny replied lightly. ‘I’m sure we can find someone who will appreciate your body at five in the morning.’ He teased.

‘Nope.’ Stiles said, ‘The only way anyone will appreciate my body is when they’re planning on sacrificing it.’ He said.

‘She was not planning on killing you Stiles!’ Cora sighed, ‘She was totally hitting on you.’

‘Who?’ Peter asked.

‘Some girl at school, she gave Stiles her number so they could hang out outside of school and Stiles thinks it’s because she’s planning on killing him.’ Cora explained and Peter laughed loudly, oddly he seemed to get a sense of anger from Derek but he wasn’t really sure what that meant so he chose to ignore it.

‘When she tries to kill me I’m going to love telling you all exactly how wrong you were.’

‘When she tries to stick her tongue down your throat you’ll realize I’m always right.’ Danny taunted, unsure why the rest of the pack seemed to suddenly turn serious, the bell chose that moment to ring and they all rushed off to afternoon classes. 

By the end of the day it was all over school that Stiles had been stabbed while helping his dad catch some drug dealers, more and more people were coming up to him and talking to him and it was making Stiles really on edge. He was glad for lacrosse practice, except then Coach wouldn’t let him play until he knew that Stiles was actually okay to play. Stiles couldn’t exactly show him the pretty much healed scars now so he had to sit practice out. He decided to head home instead, knowing he could go for a run before Danny got there and then they could spar.

Danny was pretty worn out by the time they finished practice he decided he should probably call Stiles and tell him that he didn’t want to spar tonight, that they should just practice a few magic points instead.

“You still heading over to Stiles’?” Isaac asked and Danny nodded. “All joking aside, you’re not actually dating him in secret are you?”

“No.” Danny said surprised, “I like you. Stiles is just a friend, there never has been and never will be anything more between us. But he’s had my back just as much as I’ve had his. And if Derek wasn’t such a dick to him I never would have even pretended to be interested in Stiles like that.”

“It’s not Derek’s fault.” Isaac said, “He’s a bit unstable when it comes to Stiles. He can’t help it. He doesn’t always think before he acts.”

“Tell me again why I should let him anywhere near Stiles?” Danny sighed.

“Because they’re mates.” Isaac said simply, oblivious to the look of shock on Danny’s face. 

“What?” He hissed in surprise.

“They’re mates.” Isaac said seriously, “But you knew that? Right?”

“What? No! Oh my god! Of course I didn’t know!” Danny said, stressing slightly, “Jesus, how has Derek not already killed me!? Oh god.” 

“It’s not that big of a deal. Derek already said he just wants Stiles to be happy, even if that means he’s with someone else.”

“Jesus.” Danny said letting out a breath, he hadn’t realized that. “I need to talk to Derek, tell him I’m sorry.” 

“I thought you wanted to go see Stiles?” 

“This is more important.” Danny said, grabbing his bag and pulling Isaac out of the locker room. ‘Dude, I’ve got to head across to the loft with Isaac, I need to talk to Derek about something.’ 

‘No worries.’ Stiles voice drifted back to him.

‘You’re still coming across in a bit?’

‘Yeah. Just out for a run and then I’ll be there.’ 

‘Okay, cool. See you in a bit.’ Danny replied, already in the car and on the way to the loft.

“So you honestly had no idea?” Isaac said surprised.

“No. I mean, I knew Derek fancied him, obviously, I’m pretty sure Stiles is the only one who hasn’t noticed that. But I didn’t realise how big this was. I thought it was just him getting jealous because someone took his toy, not him getting jealous because he thought I was sleeping with his mate. Oh my god, he’s going to kill me.” Danny rambled as they practically ran up the stairs.

“I think you’re blowing it out of proportion.” Isaac said trying to reassure him, he really didn’t want Derek to kill Danny, not when they’d only just started dating.

“I’m sorry.” Danny said as he burst into the loft and Derek looked at him surprised. “I didn’t know that you were mates, I thought you were just being a jackass and I’m really sorry. What are you doing?” He said as he suddenly realized that Derek was in the kitchen, covered in flour and looking at them startled. 

“Nothing.” Derek said, blushing underneath the flour. 

“Okay.” Danny said, dragging the word out and looking to Isaac for an explanation.

“Don’t look at me. No idea.” Isaac said shrugging.

“What are you doing here? I thought you weren’t coming across until later?” Derek said, trying to change the conversation as he tried to clean himself up slightly.

“Nope. No way.” Danny said, “What are you trying to do?” 

“I thought I could make us all some dinner or something.” Derek muttered as Danny got closer and Danny grinned, this was perhaps the most awful and adorable thing he’d ever seen Derek do.

“For Stiles?” He asked.

“For all of us.” Derek said firmly. 

“I think ordering in might be a better idea.” Isaac said and Derek groaned. 

“Is it that bad?” He asked, Isaac had a small taste of the mix in the bowl, Danny wasn’t sure what it was supposed to be. Isaac went a delicate shade of green. “Let’s order in.” Derek said quickly, throwing the whole bowl in the bin.

“Look, if you’re trying to impress Stiles, you don’t need to cook.” Danny said, Derek glared at him and Danny held up his hands in surrender, “Stiles can already cook, like, miles better than any of us. I just meant that maybe you should be start by just trying to be nicer to him. You know, not shouting at him all the time?”

“Didn’t you come in here apologizing?” Derek growled and Danny nodded.

“Yes, now I’ve decided to help you, because this is just a little pathetic.” Danny said gesturing to the destroyed kitchen.

Stiles had pretty much run the entire perimeter of the town, his speed easily enhanced by magic, but still not quite as fast as the wolves, by the time he decided he should head home. He grabbed a quick shower, knowing that he probably stank of sweat, and drove across to the loft. He was starving, he debated going to the store and getting some food but he couldn’t be bothered, instead he drove to the loft, climbed out of his jeep and headed up the stairs.

The whole pack was already there, sprawled around the loft, the television on in the background as they chatted amongst themselves.

“Stiles!” Scott called happily when he saw Stiles arrive. “You came!”

“Obviously.” Stiles said sarcastically, heading to the kitchen and grabbing a drink, trying to act as normal as possible when really he felt oddly nervous. This was the first time they’d spent just spending time together without a threat hanging over their heads. 

“How was your run?” Danny asked and Stiles shrugged. “Anything weird?”

“Nope.” Stiles said, downing half the bottle of water, “All quiet on the frontlines.” He smirked.

“Since when do you go running? Do you spend more time on the ground that actually running?” Jackson sneered and Stiles smiled easily.

“Probably.” He said, he wasn’t going to tell Jackson that he could probably outrun him if he pushed his magic a little harder.

‘When they find out, kick Jackson’s ass first.’ Danny said and Stiles grinned.

“You know it’s so cool when you guys do that.” Allison said and Danny shrugged. 

“It has it’s perks I guess.” Stiles said. “Mainly the fact that we get to talk about what a jackass Harris is without him ever hearing it.” Stiles sat down next to Scott, his attention turning to the programme on the television. The longer he was there the more he relaxed, especially when several bags of Chinese food turned up and Stiles managed to get a massive plateful, finally filling his rumbling stomach. 

“Danny said you weren’t at lacrosse practice.” Derek said hours later, Stiles had gone to get another drink and was surprised when Derek appeared in the kitchen a few moments later.

“Yeah.” Stiles said casually, bending down to grab a bottle of coke from the bottom shelf of the fridge, “Coach wouldn’t let me play because it got around school about the whole stabbing thing, and I couldn’t exactly show him the cuts because they’ve nearly healed and I couldn’t be bothered arguing with him so I just figured I wouldn’t bother, I should be able to play Wednesday though.” Stiles rambled, taking a swig of coke. 

“That’s good.” Derek said, looking genuinely a little pained.

“I think so.” Stiles said, ‘Look,’ Stiles said telepathically, wanting to keep this conversation private, ‘I was thinking about what you said this morning, I just want to forget about it, like all of it, so I’m going to pretend nothing happened, you and the rest of the pack are going to pretend nothing happened and we’ll just go back to being how we were before all of this, okay?’

‘We can’t just pretend nothing happened Stiles.’ Derek sighed, ‘You were tortured and none of us noticed. That’s not something any of us can forget.’

‘Well, that’s what I want. Scott asked me what he could do to earn my forgiveness, you asked too, this is what I’m asking for. I’m asking for things to not be weird, I’m asking that when you look at me it’s not with pity.’

‘I don’t look at you with pity.’ Derek said confused.

‘Of course you do.’ Stiles said, ‘The whole pack does, they found out about Gerard and they looked at me like I was broken. I’m not.’ Stiles sighed heavily, ‘Okay, sometimes I am.’ He admitted, ‘But most of the time I’m okay, and you all look at me like I’m about to fall apart all the time and I’m not. So can you just forget about what you know and treat me like normal? Please?’

‘Okay.’ Derek said, he could see where Stiles was coming from and he’d do anything to make Stiles happy, ‘If that’s what you want then that’s what we’ll do.’

‘Good.’ Stiles said turning back into the front room, meeting Danny’s gaze and nodding slightly to let him know everything was okay.

It became a bit of a routine, Stiles and Danny would spar each day after school and then head across to the loft, although occasionally they dealt with creatures that came through the wards, Danny quite often stayed longer than Stiles, but that was because he spent a lot of time making out with Isaac which Stiles really didn’t need to see. Derek was acting weirdly which bugged Stiles because he couldn’t figure out why, like he didn’t shove Stiles into walls anymore, he actually used his words, it was weird talking to Derek telepathically, he was a lot more open about a lot of things, Stiles hated the fact that it made him fall for Derek all over again, there was no chance of anything happening between them. 

It was Saturday afternoon, Danny had left the lacrosse field where they’d been practicing about an hour ago to head across to the loft for a pack gathering, Stiles said he was going to call in and see his dad, then go grab Brimmy and they’d come across. His dad had been a bit tired but had smiled happily at Stiles, until Stiles showed him the salad he’d made him for lunch. They’d chatted for a little while, mainly about how Stiles was feeling, even when Stiles tried to change the subject, before he finally admitted he had to get going if he wanted to get across to the loft before they started the first movie without him.

He ditched his car in the driveway and headed into the house to grab Brimmy, when the dragon didn’t immediately come to greet him Stiles was concerned, when he’d gone through the whole house without any sign of Brimmy he decided to check the garden, perhaps Brimmy had headed into the woods. 

He moved deeper into the woods, something felt wrong about this. 

‘Somethings wrong.’ He said at random, instantly feeling the rest of pack listen to his words.

‘What’s up?’ Danny asked.

‘I’m not sure. Brimmy wasn’t at home.’

‘He’s a grown dragon Stiles, he can take care of himself.’ Danny said teasingly, it didn’t ease the worry in Stiles’ stomach. 

‘Where are you?’ Scott asked. 

‘I’m in the woods at the back of my house. Something feels wrong.’ Stiles said, he felt queasy, dizzy, there was something really wrong. 

‘You’re probably just being paranoid.’ Erica said as Stiles continued to move through the woods.

‘Probably.’ Stiles agreed, yet he kept moving forward silently, sure there was something ahead that he wouldn’t like. 

‘Stiles, come over, we’ll figure it out later.’ Danny said.

‘Yeah, I’m on my way.’ Stiles said, still moving forward. 

‘Liar.’ Danny laughed.

‘Always.’ Stiles replied.

‘Okay, tell me what you’re seeing then.’ Danny said sounding serious, knowing that Stiles wasn’t going to just drop it. Stiles quickly dropped his mental guards, let them see what he was seeing, the woods around him, the sense that something was wrong. 

He wandered for a few more minutes, Danny telling him to stop being so paranoid before he took another few steps forward and finally seeing Brimmy. Brimmy was on the ground on the other side of a clearing, a bear trap on his rear leg, blood pouring from the wound, cuts on his wings and chest and a metal chain that was wound tightly around his snout keeping his mouth closed and digging into his skin.

“Brimmy!” Stiles cried in shock, racing forward towards him, he could hear the panic from the pack.

‘Stiles! Stop!’ Danny was shouting.

‘Wait!’ Derek was ordering but Stiles couldn’t wait, Brimmy was hurt, he needed to get to him. He felt a sudden pain in his leg, something yanking him backwards and tearing a scream of pain from his throat. When he looked down he saw a bear trap entrapping the bottom half of his leg. ‘Stiles!’ Derek was calling in panic, Stiles could hear Brimmy snorting in pain and he tried desperately to get to him, pulling on the bear trap and screaming again. ‘We’re coming Stiles. Just stay still!’ Derek was ordering.

“Brimmy!” Stiles was calling, “Hang on buddy, I’m coming, I’m coming.” Stiles called. 

“Aww, isn’t that sweet?” Gerard said stepping out from the trees and looking at Stiles with amusement. 

‘Stiles, just stay still.’ Danny said, ‘We’re coming.’ 

‘Gerard’s here.’ Stiles replied, the panic evident in his voice.

‘We know Stiles.’ Scott said, ‘We can see. Just stay calm, we’re on our way.’

“You know I wondered about you Stiles,” Gerard said, and Stiles studied him as three other men stepped out of the woods, “Wondered how you could have possibly set my men on fire in the state you were in. But I’ve figured it out now. Obviously, you got this beast to do it for you.” Gerard said, unsheathing his sword.

“You’ve figured nothing out.” Stiles growled, “And you stay the hell away from him or it’ll be the last thing you ever do.” He threatened.

Gerard grinned, swinging his sword at Brimmy, Stiles willed his magic forwards, willed it to protect Brimmy, felt the energy surging out of him like never before when the mist surrounded Brimmy’s large form and stopped Gerard’s sword in its tracks.

Gerard looked at Brimmy and then at Stiles, a wicked glint in his eye as he realized. Stiles wasn’t going to admit that his vision was going a bit fuzzy when Gerard swung the sword again. 

‘Stiles! Drop the mist before you pass out!’ Danny ordered him.

‘No. I need to protect Brimmy.’

‘Stiles!’ Danny shouted, ‘Drop it now!’

‘No!” Stiles shouted back. ‘How far are you?’

‘Ten minutes Stiles, just hang on.’ Derek said. 

‘I can hold it. Just hurry.’ 

“So I imagine that you are the mage that I’ve been hearing so much about then?” Gerard said and Stiles glared at him. “I’d like you to meet someone,” He gestured for one of the hunters to come towards Stiles, he looked a little like George, dark hair, blue eyes, the same kind of madness in them, “This is Will. He’s George’s brother.” Gerard said winking at Stiles as he swung the sword at Brimmy again and Stiles felt his heart start to race as Will walked towards him.

“I can see what George saw in him.” Will said staring at Stiles like he was prey. All of Stiles’ energy was going into holding the mist around Brimmy as the two other hunters and Gerard started to attack him again. Will bent down and gripped Stiles’ leg where the bear trap was and squeezed tightly. Stiles screamed in pain, the mist fading for a moment before Stiles redoubled his efforts on the mist, ignoring the pain in his body.

“He’s got a pretty scream.” Will said and suddenly all Stiles could see was George, could feel his hands on him, could see him in hell, screaming at Stiles that he’d put him there as he attacked him, as he killed him over and over.

‘…iles, Stiles, Stiles, come on, listen to me!’ Danny’s voice seemed to be coming from very far away, all he could see was George, feel the pain he’d been in, see Erica and Boyd unconscious across the clearing, George pinning him down, his hands on his skin, god, he was going to die, he was going to die. 

‘Stiles!’ His dad’s voice came through loud and clear, ‘Focus! Brimmy needs you!’ That did the trick and suddenly he was back in the clearing, Will’s face only a few inches from his, an evil smirk on his face. 

He turned to look at Brimmy to see the mist fading from around him and Stiles shoved his magic, his vision blacking out for a moment before it returned and the mist thickened again. 

“I wonder what else you can do?” Will said, gripping Stiles’ face tightly, Stiles couldn’t think about him, couldn’t look at him, all he could do was focus on Brimmy, sweat was pouring off him, his head was starting to pound, he could barely breathe, he was fading quickly. 

‘How long?’ Stiles panted.

‘Three minutes Stiles.’ Derek growled and Stiles nodded, he could do this, for three minutes he could hold on, he could protect Brimmy. 

‘Forget about protecting Brimmy!’ Danny called, ‘You can’t save him if you’re dead Stiles!’ 

‘No!’ Stiles shouted, he wasn’t going to let them kill Brimmy. 

“I could have a lot of fun with you.” Will grinned.

“Your brother tried.” Stiles said, smirking at him despite how exhausted he felt, he would not let him win, “I fried him.” Stiles said, watching as Will’s face tightened in rage.

‘Don’t provoke him Stiles.’ Lydia said, Stiles screamed again as Will squeezed his leg.

“He didn’t have any fun with me.” Stiles panted, “But I had a lot of fun, I watched him burn, heard him beg and scream. He had a very pretty scream too.” Stiles taunted, screaming again as Will tightened the bear trap slightly. 

“You’re a little shit.” Will said and Stiles grinned.

“So I’ve been told.” He replied knowing he was only moments from passing out now, he couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, all he knew was that he had to protect Brimmy. 

“I’ll enjoy beating that out of you.” Will said, “You see, Gerard promised me that I get to play with you for as long as I want, and I fully intend to have a lot of fun with you. Once we’ve killed your little pet of course.” 

‘Stiles, we’re coming.’ Derek informed him, and Stiles sighed gratefully, he didn’t know how much longer he could hold on. ‘Just hold on, okay, we’re nearly there.’

“Some powerful mage,” Gerard smirked, “He’s barely conscious, we’ve been here before haven’t we Stiles?” Gerard said, strolling over to Stiles, “Beating you into submission, making you scream, making you bleed.” 

“Fuck you.” Stiles said, his vision flickering. 

“Still got that attitude as well.” Gerard said, “In fact Stiles, you’re not all that powerful are you? So you can protect your little dragon? What’s so special about that? In fact, I’m pretty sure that nothing has changed at all has it? You’re out here all by yourself, still just as powerless as you were then, and no-one is coming for you, no-one is looking for you, no-one cares that you’re here. No-one is going to save you. You’re going to die Stiles, eventually, once we’ve done making you scream, once we’ve tortured you into near insanity, I don’t want you completely insane, I want you to be fully aware of why you’re being tortured, I think that’s only fair don’t you?”

“You’re wrong.” Stiles said, a smirk on his lips, despite the sweat running off him as he struggled to maintain Brimmy’s protection. Gerard quirked an eyebrow in question and Stiles grinned again, “I’m not alone.” He said as a roar echoed through the woods and Derek burst into the clearing, his eyes glowing bright red, the rest of the pack pouring into the clearing a moment later. 

Gerard looked at them panicked for a moment before swinging his sword quickly, resting it against Stiles’ neck. 

“Make a move and I kill him.” Gerard said, Stiles could hear the growling coming from the wolves, but he couldn’t see them, all he could see was Will hovering half over him, his hands pressed against Stiles’ leg, Gerard’s sword at his throat. The two hunters that had been attacking Brimmy had taken one look at the huge pack that had burst into the clearing and turned and run in the opposite direction. As soon as they’d done that Stiles had dropped the mist around Brimmy and could feel his energy levels slowly levelling out. 

‘You okay?’ Danny asked.

‘Fine.’ Stiles said, gritting his teeth as Will squeezed his leg slightly.

“Now, if you want him in one piece, you’re going to take several steps backwards and put the claws away.” Gerard said, when none of them moved Will squeezed his leg a bit harder and Stiles fought back a cry of pain. “I doubt even your powerful mage can survive having his head chopped off.” Gerard said. 

‘What’s the plan?’ Danny asked.

‘Take a few steps back.’ Stiles said, a plan forming in his head, ‘I’m not sure how this is going to go.’ He said already concentrating on his magic.

‘How what is going to go?’ Jackson asked sounding nervous as he backed up. 

“Good. Now, claws and weapons away.” Gerard said as Allison lowered her bow and his dad and Chris put their guns away.

‘Stiles, what are you planning?’ Lydia asked.

Gerard’s sword was drawing a thin trickle of blood at his neck, Will’s hands were pressing harder and Stiles knew he wasn’t far from screaming again. It was now or never.

“It’ll be a shame to kill you so quickly Stiles. I really wanted to take my time.” Gerard said, swinging his sword. 

Stiles pushed his magic into the earth, forcing the ground to spring to life, the weeds and grass and vines to grow at an impossible speed, wrapping itself around Will, around Gerard, pulling them backwards, away from Stiles and pinning them to the ground.

“Stiles!” Derek said, rushing forward quickly and Stiles felt himself relax, he was safe.

“Get Brimmy.” He said, he was exhausted now, all energy gone, he needed to sleep. 

Derek had never been so terrified in his whole life, he thought the night in the warehouse with the drug dealers had been bad, this was so much worse, seeing what Stiles saw, seeing Brimmy beaten and chained, seeing Stiles running headfirst into danger, knowing they were not close enough to get to him, to see Will and Gerard taunting him. To see what Stiles saw when Will approached him, to see George’s face, to feel Stiles’ pain and terror, seeing his betas unconscious as Stiles was pinned to the ground by George, seeing a flash of what he could only assume was hell, of George stabbing Stiles, over and over, screaming at him that he’d killed him, killing Stiles so many times that he lost count. Only to arrive in the clearing and find Gerard with a sword at Stiles’ throat and Will half pinning Stiles to the ground, he could smell Stiles’ terror, hear his rapid heartbeat. He needed to get to him.

As soon as Stiles’ magic had pulled Will and Gerard away he was rushing forward, determined to see with his own eyes that Stiles was okay, instead all he was worried about was his bloody dragon. Derek could kill him for being so selfless.

Gerard was struggling away from the vines holding him in place and Derek glanced back at Stiles who now seemed to be unconscious. He strode over to Will, clawing out his throat easily, nobody would ever touch Stiles without Stiles’ permission and Derek would make sure that nobody ever touched him to cause him pain. He didn’t feel remotely guilty about killing the man. 

Gerard looked panicked now, seeing Derek closing in on him, knowing there was no way to get away.

“I’m sorry, please I’m sorry. I’ll leave. I promise I’ll leave. I’ll never come back.” He begged. Derek leaned in, glanced back at Stiles, at the faint line of blood at his throat, he looked across at Brimmy, Erica, Isaac and Jackson were already freeing him from the chains and he knew that Brimmy would kill Gerard as soon as he was free. “Please, I’m begging you. I promise, I’ll leave. I won’t cause him any more harm.”

Derek snarled. “You hurt what is mine.” His claws starting to lengthen and Derek couldn’t help but slightly enjoy the terror in Gerard’s eyes, “And you forget, Argent, that I can hear when you are lying.” He said, watching as Gerard paled slightly in horror before quickly swiping his claws across Gerard’s throat and killing him instantly. 

The second Brimmy was free he shrunk down to the size of a kitten and went towards Stiles, limping slightly on his back leg, Derek took pity on the dragon and picked him up gently, trying to be as careful of his injuries as possible. Brimmy settled next to Stiles, whining slightly when Stiles showed no reaction. 

“We’re going to have to get the bear trap off.” Danny said, “But it looks pretty deep. We’ll have to keep pressure on it until he starts to heal.” 

“What if it’s broken something?” Lydia asked worriedly.

“I don’t think it has.” Allison said, examining his ankle gently. 

“Shit!” Stiles shouted, waking up in a panic when Allison prodded his leg.

“Hey,” Noah said, calming Stiles, “Hey, you’re okay, you’re alright.” Stiles tried to move his leg and winced in pain. “Don’t move Stiles, your leg is still trapped.”

“Fuck!” Stiles said when he tried to move again. 

“Stay still Stiles!” Danny said. 

“It hurts, shit, it hurts.” Stiles said, pulling on the trap again and crying out in pain as it dug deeper.

“Stiles!” Derek shouted, “Stop moving!” Stiles didn’t listen to him and struggled again. “We’re going to have to get it off before he hurts himself even more.” Derek said, glancing up at Scott and Jackson, “I’ll hold him still, you pull it off.” 

“Derek…” Scott said unsure if it was the right thing to do. 

“Just fucking do it!” Stiles said, crying out again in pain. Derek leaned over Stiles, holding him as still as possible, Danny grabbing his other side and effectively pinning him still. Jackson and Scott grabbed hold of either side of the bear trap and started to pull it open, Stiles screamed in pain, struggling against them as Danny and Derek held him in place. A few moments later and it was all over, the trap was off, Stiles’ leg was free and Cora and Allison were wrapping pieces of a jacket tight around his leg, Cora keeping pressure on it. 

“You okay?” Danny asked and Stiles nodded, his teeth still gritted tight and still looking to be in immense pain but he was nodding gratefully.

“Fine.” Stiles said, already trying to get to his feet. 

“Nope.” Derek said firmly pushing Stiles back down to the ground. “Just stay where you are for a minute, take a breath.”

“I’m fine.” Stiles said, glaring at him, then looking down at Brimmy who nudged his shoulder, “Buddy, how are you? Are you alright?” Stiles asked, examining Brimmy’s injuries. Brimmy purred happily already seeming to be healing, Derek was glad at least one of them looked to be on the mend. 

“How are you feeling? You passed out for a few minutes there?” Danny said and Stiles shrugged.

“Just overuse of magic, I’m fine, already feeling better. Although if you want to lend me a pen?”

“No.” Danny said, “No drawing runes on yourself.” Stiles looked at Danny with wide pleading eyes and Danny rolled his eyes, “Fine.” He said defeated, “But I’m drawing them.” Stiles nodded. “Alright, sit up.” Derek let go of Stiles and let him sit up, helping him gently so he didn’t jar his leg. “Shirt up.” Danny said, pulling a pen out of his pocket. 

“What are you doing?” Cora asked.

“I’m going to draw some runes on Stiles, they’ll help him heal quicker and boost his energy levels.”

“Why can’t he do it himself?” Peter asked.

“Because Stiles’ magic goes on his belief, when he draws his own runes they’re like a thousand times more powerful than mine, which means he then tries stupid stuff like trying to cut off his finger to see if it will reattach itself.”

“What!?” Derek hissed angrily as Stiles blushed.

“In all fairness I hadn’t slept in four days and my head was all over the place.” Stiles said as an excuse.

“Which is why he doesn’t draw his own runes.” Danny said, pulling up the back of Stiles’ shirt. Derek heard Scott, Isaac and Erica suck in deep breaths from behind Stiles, Peter moved slightly as he too sucked in a breath. Derek could hear Stiles’ heart start to beat rapidly. “Done.” Danny said a moment later, pulling Stiles’ shirt back down, “Don’t you know it’s rude to stare.” Danny said defensively and Stiles straightened his shirt, blushing slightly. 

“Stiles,” Scott’s voice sounded broken, “Is that…Are they…Did he do that?” Scott gestured to where Gerard’s body still lay.

“Yes.” Stiles said, gripping Noah’s arm tightly and pulling himself to his feet, he swayed for a moment, holding tightly to his dad’s arm before squaring his shoulders, “Guess he won’t be doing that to anyone again.” Stiles said, staring at both Gerard and Will’s bodies, still half tangled in the vines. Stiles closed his eyes or a moment before the vines tightened again and they started to pull the bodies underground. A few minutes later and they were gone completely, no sign of anything having ever happened here. Stiles swayed slightly again and Derek hovered nearby, ready to help him the second he needed anything, but Stiles just gritted his teeth, letting his dad support his weight slightly as they headed back through the woods to Stiles’ house.

“Well, I guess we don’t need to worry about Gerard anymore.” Peter smirked as Brimmy curled up in the fireplace and went to sleep.

“Yeah.” Stiles said, sitting slowly on the sofa, wincing as his leg throbbed, “I’m thinking I have Derek to thank for that?”

“Yeah,” Isaac said grinning, “He went all Alpha male on them both.” 

“You didn’t have to,” Stiles said, “But I’m glad you did.” Derek shrugged, he didn’t mind, he’d kill anyone who hurt Stiles. “Still, thank you.” Stiles said, still looking to be in pain. 

“I can take some of your pain if you like?” He suggested, ignoring the way the rest of the pack were smirking at him, “Just until you start to heal?” 

“Yes.” Noah said, “That sounds like a good idea. In the meantime, the rest of you can help me make sure there aren’t any more traps out there.” He said, practically pushing the rest of the pack out of the door. 

“That was weird.” Stiles said sleepily, “Don’t you think that was weird?” 

“I didn’t really notice.” Derek said, sitting down next to Stiles and placing a hand on the back of his neck, drawing pain from him instantly. 

“It was weird.” Stiles said, yawning loudly as the pain raced from his body. 

“You’re in a lot of pain.” Derek said, “It doesn’t feel like it’s all from the bear trap?” 

“I think a couple of my ribs are still cracked from the other day.”

“Why what happened the other day?” Derek said in panic.

“Oh, nothing serious, a couple of elves, no big deal but they got in a few hits before I got rid of them.”

“Elves?” Derek said in shock, “Like the shoemaker and the elves? Little fairies? When was this? Why didn’t you tell us? Don’t tell me you dealt with them by yourself?”

“So many questions.” Stiles muttered sleepily, “No, more like elves from lord of the rings, not fairies, fairies are much worse and not like cute little flying things, like grey skin, big mouths, sharp teeth, still sort of human sized, they can shapeshift too, pass for humans and they are definitely able to take a decent sized bite out of you, that’s the fairies not the elves by the way, the elves are pretty much harmless, other than the trying to kill me bit. But then, everyone seems to be trying to kill me now, it’s no fun.” Stiles yawned.

“Maybe if you didn’t go off wandering into the woods by yourself you wouldn’t be such an easy target.” Derek muttered murderously, did Stiles have no sense of self-preservation?

“I’m not an easy target.” Stiles muttered, “Besides if you guys were there then I’d be too busy worrying about you to actually deal with them properly.” Derek snorted.

“Stiles, we can probably take care of them a lot better than you can.”

“Keep telling yourself that Alpha.” Stiles said, his eyes already slipping closed and a moment later Derek knew he was fast asleep and would be for a while.

“How can he not realize?” Cora asked as they strolled through the woods, “I mean it’s obvious.”

“Not to Stiles.” Danny smirked, “I told you, he’s oblivious.”

“Nobody is that oblivious.” Ethan said and Danny laughed.

“Want to bet?” He grinned. 

“Yeah,” Ethan grinned, “I bet you twenty dollars that he figures it out by the end of next week.”

“You’re on.” Danny laughed, “Easiest twenty I’ve ever made.”

“Hang on,” Scott said, “I bet two weeks.” 

“Nope, three days.” Erica grinned. 

“I bet he’s figured it out by the time we get back.” Lydia said and Noah laughed.

“I bet he won’t figure it out unless Derek tells him, and I also bet the only thing we’ll find when we get back is Stiles asleep.” Noah said and Danny nodded in agreement.

They found two more traps which they disarmed before deciding the area was clear and heading home. Stiles was fast asleep, leaning against Derek who looked more at peace and relaxed than Noah had ever seen him before, he looked younger, more vulnerable and looking at Stiles with such love and tenderness in his eyes that it took Noah’s breath away, Derek looked at Stiles the same way Noah had looked at Claudia, he loved him, it was only just dawning on Noah just how much Derek loved him. As soon as he saw them he looked at Stiles guiltily, as if it was wrong for him to look at Stiles that way. Noah knew he should probably be worried about a twenty-two-year-old being in love with his nearly seventeen-year-old son, but he wasn’t, he knew that Stiles was capable of looking after himself and Danny had explained to him about wolves and their mates so he knew Derek would never purposefully hurt Stiles. He knew Stiles trusted and even cared about Derek, not that he’d admit it to Noah, and Noah accepted that, knew he had to trust that Derek wouldn’t make the same mistake again.

“He okay?” Noah said and Derek nodded, Noah brushed his hand over Stiles’ forehead, examined the scratch on his neck that was already healed. Stiles opened his eyes, looking blearily around him at his surroundings, “Hey kid, how are you feeling?” He said, resting his palm against Stiles’ cheek. 

“I’m alright dad, don’t worry.” Stiles said, Noah still looked to be on the verge of tears. “I’m fine, I promise.”

“They nearly killed you Stiles.” Noah said quietly, “If we’d been a few minutes later…”

“But you weren’t.” Stiles said, sitting up, Derek wasn’t going to be upset about the loss of contact, he wasn’t. “You weren’t dad, you got there in plenty of time. And they didn’t nearly kill me. I would have been fine.”

“You had a bear trap on your leg!” Noah hissed, “What exactly were you planning on doing if we hadn’t turned up?”

“I would have figured something out dad.” Stiles said seriously, “Honestly, you worry too much, I can handle myself.” 

“I know you can.” Noah said, “But you’re also my son who I’ve nearly lost too many times over the past few months.”

“I’m sorry dad.” Stiles muttered guiltily.

“You don’t need to be sorry.” Noah said, “I just need you to be more careful.”

“He won’t be going out into the woods by himself anymore.” Derek said and Stiles turned to look at him incredulously. 

“Excuse me?” Stiles said arching an eyebrow at Derek.

“I said that you won’t be going out by yourself anymore.” Derek said firmly. “It’s obviously too dangerous for you. It makes sense that you have someone else with you at all times.”

“I’m not a child.” Stiles said angrily, “I can handle myself.” 

“So you say.” Derek said, “But, there’s no harm in having someone else watching out for you.”

“I have Danny.” Stiles said simply.

“Yeah and Danny can’t fight like a wolf.” 

“No, he can fight better.” Stiles said and Danny blushed slightly, “Not to mention he can cast spells which none of you can.” 

“What about when you haven’t got Danny? You don’t seem to be worried about when you go out by yourself?” Derek argued.

“Because I don’t need a babysitter and I can manage myself pretty much all the time.” Stiles snapped. “Besides, it’s not up to you what I do and don’t do. I’m the one that feels when the wards break at ass o’clock in the morning, if I can handle it, then I’m not going to wake Danny up and drag his ass out to the woods just because you’ve got a grump on about if I can actually handle whatever creature comes through or not.”

“Fine, don’t wake Danny up. Wake me up.” Derek growled.

“What?” Stiles spluttered.

“If your wards break and you don’t want to wake Danny up then you contact me and I’ll come out with you.” Derek said reasonably.

“No.” Stiles said in shock. “I’m not waking you up in the middle of the night. You’ll be even more grumpy than Danny.”

“I won’t.” Derek said, Stiles rolled his eyes sarcastically.

“I’ll believe that when I see it.” Stiles replied.

“Okay then, glad we could agree on that.” Derek smirked.

“What?” Stiles spluttered, “We didn’t agree to anything.” 

“Yes we did. You’re going to get in touch with me if your wards break and Danny isn’t around.” Derek said calmly as Stiles gaped at him. “And, if I’m grumpy when you wake me up, then we’ll come up with another plan, but if I manage just fine, then we carry on like that until people stop trying to kill you.” 

“People are always going to be trying to kill me.” Stiles sulked, “It’s kind of part of the deal.”

“Well, then, I’ll always be around to help you.” Derek said as Stiles stared at him in something like shock and amazement. 

“Good, glad we got that settled.” Peter said, clapping his hands together and Stiles turned to look at him in shock, as if forgetting that the rest of them were in the room. Stiles looked to Danny for back-up, Danny just shrugged, if Derek was willing to do that then Stiles would just have to deal with it. Although he wouldn’t have to tell them, he could just go out without any of them knowing, it wasn’t like he couldn’t handle it. 

“Who wants Chinese?” Scott said, jumping up and heading towards the kitchen where he knew Stiles had some menus hidden. Stiles sighed heavily, he couldn’t believe Derek sometimes, didn’t he trust Stiles at all? He wanted to stomp to his room but he couldn’t because his leg still hurt, despite the fact it seemed to be healing steadily. 

Brimmy jumped from the fireplace and landed lightly on his lap, his injuries now all healed, Stiles kind of wished his wounds would heal that quickly, Stiles scratched behind his ears and Brimmy purred happily. When Derek made a move to start drawing pain from Stiles again Brimmy hissed at him, small amounts of smoke coming from his nostrils and Derek looked at him in shock. Stiles smirked, patting Brimmy on the head in appreciation, at least Brimmy had his back, he couldn’t believe that Danny hadn’t backed him up on this, stupid werewolves and stupid witches and stupid everyone. 

He could look after himself, he’d spent years in hell looking after himself. He wished he hadn’t thought that, as soon as he thought of hell he thought of George, of the other hunters, of their screams as they burned. He thought about the pack all seeing it in his memories earlier, about them seeing it, feeling it, feeling his terror. He couldn’t think about that, he didn’t want to think about that, he didn’t want to think about anything at all, he couldn’t handle them feeling it, knowing what happened, he didn’t want them to know. He could feel the room closing in around him, could smell the burning flesh, hear the screams. He couldn’t breathe.

“Stiles,” Danny said, his voice sounding worried, the rest of the pack looking at Stiles with concern, “Why did the link just disappear?” There was a blankness in Danny’s mind where the usual mild buzzing was, the only time it usually happened was when Stiles was unconscious, to feel it just cut off, well, it made Danny shiver.

Stiles didn’t want to talk to them, didn’t want to listen to them, he wanted to get away, wanted to run, wanted to be anywhere but here. Brimmy must have picked up on his mood because as soon as there was movement Brimmy grew to the size of a lion and roared loudly at the pack. Stiles curled up against his side, grateful for the heat from his body, he didn’t want to deal with them, not so soon after Gerard, after Will, after George. He just wanted to be left alone. Brimmy roared again and the pack scrambled backwards slightly. 

“Kid,” His dad’s voice said quietly and Stiles snuggled closer to Brimmy, he didn’t want to talk to them. “What’s going on?” Stiles closed his eyes, saw Will’s face grinning at him, saw George screaming at him in hell, saw Gerard laughing as they beat him, and he couldn’t do anything, he was helpless, powerless. He knew it was irrational, he knew he was probably on the verge of falling apart, but he thought that was allowed, he’d had a really bad afternoon. 

“Stiles, you need to tell us what’s going on.” Scott said, sounding terrified. Stiles didn’t need to tell them anything, he just needed to get out of here. He forced every bit of magic he had in him to heal his leg so that he could get up and walk away, he was pretty surprised to feel that it worked, then he was up, heading towards the back door, towards the fresh air, Brimmy at his side, growling at the pack when they moved towards him. As soon as Stiles was out the back door Brimmy grew to the size of a small house and Stiles wasted no time in jumping on his back and then they were flying. He could hear people shouting his name below, could hear them calling for him to come back, to talk to them, but he pushed that to the back of his mind. Instead he lay down against Brimmy’s neck, watched the town that gradually disappeared below them as they flew higher, away from Gerard, away from George and Will, away from death and pain.

“What the hell just happened?” Erica said in shock, they’d all felt the connection break with Stiles, it made her feel cold, she didn’t like it, she wanted it back. “What made him take off like that?” 

“What’s wrong with him?” Jackson asked, almost sounding concerned.

“I don’t know.” Danny sighed, feeling the warmth of Isaac’s hand slip into his, “I don’t know. He’s never blocked me out like this before.” Danny looked to be on the verge of tears.

“Brimmy will look after him.” Peter said, “Perhaps he just needs some time to process, this afternoon can’t have been easy for him.” 

“You mean meeting the brother of the man who tried to rape him, only to have the brother plan to do the exact same thing?” Lydia said, rolling her eyes, “I imagine that wouldn’t have been easy for anyone.” She glanced up at the sky where she imagined Brimmy would be somewhere, “I think he was about to have a panic attack.” She muttered.

“Why?” Isaac asked, “They’re dead. He’s got nothing to be afraid of now.”

“Just because someone is dead doesn’t mean their demons die with them.” Lydia said, “Look at what we saw this afternoon, look at what happened when Will got within touching distance of Stiles, he couldn’t think straight, couldn’t break out of his own memories. I think he was still suffering from that at the house, something triggered it and he knew he needed to get out.” Lydia said reasonably.

“But he cut us off.” Danny mumbled, “He’s never done that before.”

“He’s also, as far as I’m aware, never had the whole pack see what was going on in his head, we all saw what happened,” Lydia shivered, “It felt real to me, it felt like I was the one that was being pinned down, that I was the one that was in pain, that had been tortured and that was about to watch my friends die with no way to save them. It was like I was the one that was in Hell, that was being killed over and over again by the man I murdered.” The pack was silent, “Stiles is probably freaking out that we saw that, he’s probably trying to deal with it by himself.” 

“But he doesn’t need to. We’re here.” Scott said, holding Allison tight to his side. 

“Stiles runs from his problems.” Noah said, “He tries to think that they don’t exist and that they’ll go away on their own.”

“So he’s running from us? So he doesn’t have to face us?” Allison asked in confusion, “Why though? I mean, if any of us had been through what he’d been through then we wouldn’t have survived. Even if we did we wouldn’t be as strong as Stiles is about it. Why run from us? He should know we’ll support him no matter what.”

“Should he?” Danny said, “You disowned him and I know we’re all trying to fix it, to work together again, but when Stiles needed you none of you were there and it’ll take time for him to trust that you’ll be there for him, it’ll take time for him to actually believe in you again.” 

“We’re trying.” Erica said, “We can’t do any more than that.”

“I know.” Noah said, “But it takes time, you don’t actually think that this can be fixed overnight? Or in a couple of weeks?”

“So we just give him time?” Scott said.

“Yes.” Lydia said firmly, “So we go inside, have a drink, order Chinese food, and wait for Stiles to get back.” Derek glanced at the sky with worry, he hoped Stiles was okay up there, “He will come back.” Lydia said, touching his arm gently and steering him back towards the house.


	10. Chapter 10

Brimmy finally took him home when it was dark out, they’d flown for hours and Stiles had sobbed silently until the tears had finally dried up. He was exhausted, but at least he hadn’t had a full blown panic attack, he’d just had a minor one, one that he had managed to breathe through until eventually he’d started to cry and then had been unable to stop, everything had just been so overwhelming, so real, he needed the wind in his hair, the sky surrounding him, the wide open spaces devoid of people, to convince himself that he wasn’t back in hell, that this was the real world, that he was safe here. 

They landed silently, Brimmy shrinking to the size of a lion and looking at Stiles with kind eyes, he’d obviously realized that Stiles needed space, and now he realized that Stiles needed bed. Before he’d taken a step forward the back door was being flung open and the whole pack was there, flooding out into the garden, rushing towards him with identical worried looks on their features. 

Derek hated seeing Stiles looking so broken, his eyes were red from crying, tear tracks clear on his pale skin, he was shivering, probably from the fact that he’d been cuddled up to a dragon that substituted as a furnace for the past few hours and was now without him. 

“Sorry.” Stiles mumbled, his voice cracking and then his dad was rushing towards him, wrapping him up in a tight hug, Danny joined in the hug and Derek heard the hitch in Stiles’ breathing, as if he was about to burst into tears again. Scott moved forward, tentatively hugging Stiles’ side and then relaxing when Stiles wrapped an arm around him and pulling him closer, soon the whole pack had joined in the hug, clutching each other tightly. Derek could feel Stiles’ body trembling next to him, could hear the almost silent sobs onto his dad’s shoulder and he wanted nothing more than to hold Stiles close and make sure that he never hurt like this again. “I’m sorry.” Stiles kept muttering but Noah kept shushing him, stroking his hair and telling him it was fine, it was okay, it would all be fine. 

Stiles eventually stopped shaking and when they all started to pull away it was evident that Stiles had fallen asleep in his dad’s arms. Derek took him easily from Noah, lifting him up and carrying him into the house without disturbing him, Noah glancing at him gratefully because Stiles may be lean but it was all muscle. 

Stiles was flat out, obviously exhausted after the day’s events and Derek lowered him gently onto the couch, sighing slightly when Stiles snuggled into the cushions and Brimmy jumped up onto the cushions and curled up next to Stiles’ stomach. 

They decided that it would be a good idea to stay that night and in complete honesty none of them wanted to leave, not when Stiles obviously needed the support, not when Derek couldn’t bear to tear his eyes away from the sleeping Stiles. 

When Stiles woke up it was shining bright sunlight through the window, he glanced around and saw Erica, Isaac, Jackson and Cora were fast asleep on the floor by the fire, he could hear movement in the kitchen and he guessed that the rest of the pack were in there. He got up from the couch, feeling an ache in his leg, but otherwise he felt fine, nearly tripped over Jackson as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and headed into the kitchen in the search of coffee.

“Morning.” Danny said and Stiles nodded in his direction, he needed coffee before he could function, “How are you feeling?” Stiles poured himself a cup of coffee, taking a large gulp, burning his mouth slightly but the caffeine tasted so good he didn’t care. 

“I’m fine.” Stiles said. 

“How’s your leg?” Scott asked. Stiles stretched his leg, twisting his ankle from one side to the other. 

“It’ll do.” Stiles replied, taking another swig of coffee. “You know you didn’t have to stay here.” 

“We wanted to.” Lydia said, staring at Jackson as he stumbled into the kitchen, a faint look of surprise on her face, Isaac only a few steps behind him.

“Morning sleeping beauty.” Stiles grinned and Jackson glared at him, Isaac just looking at him in confusion. 

“It’s not my fault someone decided sleeping on the floor would be a good idea.” Jackson groaned, cracking his neck and stretching slowly, “Next time there’s got to be blankets at the very least.”

“Next time?” Stiles said surprised. 

“Well, obviously, I assume this is going to become like a pretty regular thing? I mean, we do it at the loft, but if you are happier here I guess we start staying here instead.” Jackson said casually, Stiles nearly spat out his coffee.

“I’m sorry, what?” Stiles spluttered.

“What?” Jackson said, looking at him in confusion.

“Why does it matter what I want?” Stiles said and Jackson glanced across to Derek who looked just as surprised as Stiles did. Jackson was suddenly aware that he’d put his foot in it, the rest of the pack looking at him in surprise, it was obvious that Derek would do whatever Stiles wanted if it meant he was happy, but Jackson didn’t want Stiles to know that just yet. He’d bet it would be eleven days before Stiles figured it out.

“Well, we want you in the pack,” Jackson said, sounding unsure, “And we want Danny too.” He added and Danny grinned at him as he fumbled over his words, “So, you know, whatever it takes to keep you happy, more chance of you being with the pack if you’re happy right?”

“I don’t think that’s how it works.” Stiles said, looking confused and drinking more coffee, “My happiness doesn’t get put before everyone else in the pack.”

“But we’re already happy.” Scott said, “Okay, that sounded bad,” He amended, “I meant, we are all happy, you know we’re bonding as a pack and we’re all getting on okay and generally there’s not much out there trying to kill us, not now the Alpha pack is taken care of. But you aren’t. You are dealing with a lot of stuff, a lot of crap that you’ve gone through and had to deal with, and we want to be there for you. We want you to know that we’re here for you, no matter what.” Scott sounded emotional and Stiles looked at him with concern.

“I’m okay.” Stiles said, “Really, I am. Yeah I have moments when it all gets a little too much, but I’m managing. I don’t need you to look after me.”

“I know you don’t need us Stiles.” Scott said, “But I want to be here for you and I will be here for you.”

“So will the rest of us.” Boyd said and Stiles glanced at him in surprise, Boyd shrugged, “You are pack Stiles, we have each other’s backs.” He said simply. Stiles blushed in embarrassment. 

“Well, if you’ve got my back, I have like a pile of homework that needs doing?”

“We’re not doing your homework for you.” Peter said rolling his eyes.

“Alright, well then, I need to get on with that today.” Stiles said, pouring himself another cup of coffee.

“If you keep drinking coffee like that you’re going to be bouncing off the walls later.” Noah said.

“I’ll burn off the excess energy some way.” Stiles said, grinning at his dad.

“No doubt you will.” Noah replied, “I’m sure Danny can help you with that.” He said winking at Stiles.

“Got to be honest here, you said you weren’t dating?” Isaac said his voice filled with confusion and Danny smirked.

“No, not dating. Not making out, no groping, nothing like that. Promise.” Danny said.

“So what are you talking about?” Allison asked.

“I think it’s about time we tell them.” Danny said and Stiles shrugged. 

“What about a little show and tell, if you’re up to it?” Noah asked and Stiles shrugged again, taking another sip of his coffee. 

“I guess.” Stiles said, he didn’t have that much homework to do he supposed, he could take a few hours out to spar with Danny. He grabbed the knives that he’d put in the bottom drawer the morning before since both his dad and Danny had been so insistent that he couldn’t take them to school anymore, and Danny grabbed a couple of small bags, Stiles knew he had prepared potions in them.

“What exactly are you showing us?” Derek said sounding worried, watching as Stiles strapped the knives to his wrists. 

“Come on then.” Stiles said, heading towards the back garden, Danny jumping excitedly behind him and Lydia kicking Erica and Cora awake and getting them to stumble outside into the fresh air.

“This is going to be awesome.” Danny said. “Well, not for me, but for you guys. I’d take a few steps back if I was you.”

“What?” Isaac said in confusion, taking a few steps back along with the rest of the pack, “What are you on about?” 

“Ready?” Danny called to Stiles. Before any of them could ask what Stiles was ready for, Stiles was spinning towards Danny, blasting a spear of wood from the ground and towards Danny. Isaac cried out in shock but Danny threw up a quick spell and stopped it in its tracks. He grabbed the spear from the air and swung it towards Stiles. 

Derek could only watch in awe, Stiles managed to dodge every blow Danny tried to land, sometimes they fought hand to hand, sometimes with weapons and sometimes with magic. Danny was sweating heavily by the time they said enough, Stiles smiling at him happily, clapping a hand on his shoulder and telling him that he’d done great.

“I know you were taking it easy on me.” Danny muttered and Stiles shrugged.

“That was awesome!” Isaac cried, hugging Danny as he tried to catch his breath.

“Although it was only a human.” Peter said, “No offence of course Danny.” 

“You think you could do better?” Danny asked and Peter smirked, they both looked to Stiles who shrugged.

“If you want to give it a go Peter, I’m all yours.” Stiles said grinning. Danny knew that Peter would regret it, especially with that smirk on Stiles’ face, he knew this was going to be good. 

Peter lasted a whole thirty seconds before Stiles had him pinned to the ground, blood pouring from his nose and a knife pressed tight to his neck. 

“Lucky shot.” Peter said.

“We can go again if you want?” Stiles said, getting up and watching as Peter snarled at him before attacking again. Danny and Noah were the only ones who didn’t seem worried as Peter swiped at Stiles with his claws, his eyes glowing blue in frustration as Stiles dodged more blows before putting him on his ass again. 

Stiles was grinning from ear to ear, Peter staring at him in surprise from the floor.

“I can do this all day if you want?” Stiles teased giving Danny a high five. 

“He really can.” Danny replied.

“Yeah, but Peter’s old.” Jackson said, “I bet you can’t take me out.” Stiles arched an eyebrow at Danny who snorted.

“Go for it.” Danny grinned.

“Sure thing.” Stiles said, taking a step backwards to create space for them to spar. Needless to say Jackson lasted about ten seconds. Stiles had him pinned after two hits and Jackson was lying on the ground, spitting the mud from his mouth. “Anyone else?” Stiles smiled as both Erica and Isaac stepped up. The two of them managed to last a minute, Stiles knocking them both to the ground after a few hits, Isaac taking a roundhouse kick to the face and Erica being flipped and pinned the next moment. 

Boyd roared forwards and Stiles spun around him, wrapping an arm around his throat and forcing him to the ground. Scott looked terrified of hurting his best friend, threw half a punch and Stiles pushed him over, looking at Scott like he was seriously worried for his sanity. Allison tried a sneak attack, Stiles pinned her easily a little more gently than he had with the wolves because she didn’t heal like them. Cora tried a slightly different approach, waiting for Stiles to launch his attack, it meant that she lasted a whole three minutes and most of that was them circling each other and waiting for the attack. Ethan and Aiden joined up to make a huge werewolf that looked a little terrifying, Stiles took one look at them, ran towards a tree, the twins chasing him, he grabbed hold of a branch swung over it and took them out easily, landing a solid blow to their chests that separated them, both twins sat on the ground for a minute, looking a bit shaken before grinning as Stiles held out a hand to help them up.

Stiles had barely broken a sweat, instead he was grinning at them, seemingly amused at how easily he’d taken them all down.

“Alright,” Derek growled, “My turn.” He said, throwing off his jacket and prowling forwards.

“Does it make it more serious if you take your jacket off?” Stiles taunted, Derek smirked, he’d been watching Stiles fighting technique, he knew how to beat him easily. He charged forwards, feinting left before swinging right, fully expecting to make contact at the very least. Instead Stiles was a step out of reach and the next moment a solid fist connected with his ribs, it wasn’t hard, he knew Stiles was holding back, not willing to actually hurt any of them, but still the fact that Stiles landed the first hit made Derek feel slightly aroused and incredibly proud of his mate. They fought for a few minutes, Stiles dodging every one of his hits, Derek taking several of Stiles’. Derek couldn’t believe how easily Stiles fought, how he moved with such confidence and control, always knowing where his opponent was going to be, Derek fought with everything he had and still he couldn’t land a single blow to Stiles, and what was probably worse was the fact that Stiles was playing with him, it had taken him a few minutes to work it out, but it was obvious that Derek was no match for Stiles, Stiles had a grin on his face and Derek couldn’t help but be happy that Stiles was enjoying this so much. 

They fought for a few more minutes before Stiles decided to take pity on him and put him out of his misery, managing to throw a punch that knocked Derek off balance and then use that to his advantage and pin Derek to the ground. Derek knew he should be embarrassed that Stiles beat him but instead he couldn’t help but be amazed and more than a little aroused, he guessed the other wolves could smell that but he didn’t care. 

“Where the hell did you learn to do that?” Jackson said.

“Hell.” Stiles said simply, offering his hand out to Derek and helping him up. 

“Hell?” Scott asked.

“Yep. Not much else to do down there.” Stiles said casually, sheathing his knives and standing up, stretching his leg slightly.

“So you literally spent your time there fighting?” Cora asked and Stiles shrugged.

“I spent a lot of time dying too, at least in the first few months.”

“But didn’t you need to eat? Or sleep? Or go to the toilet?” Isaac asked and Stiles laughed.

“Dude, it’s Hell.” Stiles said, “The whole point is that you don’t get to have any of that, it’s just the fight. You fight or you die. If you die you come back and you fight again, although then someone else has usually taken your weapons and you have to start from scratch, so yeah, avoiding dying is definitely in your favour.” 

“So you died down there?” Peter asked.

“A lot.” Stiles said, “But I learned from my mistakes.” 

“Hence where you learned to fight?” Peter said and Stiles nodded slowly, pursing his lips for a moment in thought before speaking.

“I guess to begin with I didn’t really care one way or the other, there wasn’t any reason to fight, there wasn’t any reason to keep going and there didn’t seem like there would ever be an end or that I would ever escape, but then I met Brimmy.” Stiles said, grinning at the dragon who was lounging in the sun. “And he kept me sane.” Brimmy snorted happily, “He gave me something to fight for, something to protect. And I was still trying to protect him when Danny and dad cast the spell to pull me out.” 

“And you pulled Brimmy out with you?” Lydia said in shock.

“Yep.” Stiles said, scratching behind his ears when he rubbed up against his leg.

“Weren’t you scared of him? When you first met him?” Scott asked.

“Maybe for a second, but he was helpless and I couldn’t watch that and not do anything. He was chained up, and had been for a long time if the ash covering him was any indication, the legions were attacking him, just stabbing him over and over and he couldn’t do anything about it, he just had to lie there and let them do it.” Stiles shuddered and Brimmy whined slightly, “I looked at him and his eyes were so full of pain and defeat and I couldn’t just let them do it, I knew what it felt like, to be trapped like that, to be helpless. So I defended him as best I could.”

“You attacked legions of demons?” Jackson said in surprise.

“Yeah,” Stiles said, rubbing the back of his neck and a small blush on his cheeks, “There wasn’t any other option. So I attacked them, and I killed them and then when they killed me I got up and started all over again. Protecting Brimmy was the only thing I had down there.” There was silence for a moment and then Scott was surging forward, hugging Stiles tightly as Stiles looked surprised.

“I’m so glad you got out. I’m so glad you’re home.” Scott muttered and Stiles relaxed hugging him back. 

“Me too.” He said quietly. “I missed food.” Stiles said slightly louder and Scott laughed, tears springing from his eyes.

“Obviously, the next point will be to ensure that you train all of us to your standards.” Peter said and Stiles looked at him in confusion. “Well, obviously, should there be an attack we would all need to be capable of fighting, and seeming so Danny is the only one even remotely close to your skill set it would make sense that you train us too.” 

“Erm,” Stiles said uncertainly, “I don’t know…”

“Of course you do.” Peter insisted, “If you can train Danny then you can train us.”

“I’m not sure….”

“Don’t be ridiculous Stiles.” Peter said, cutting him off again, “You are more than capable of it I’m sure. Or would you prefer that we go racing off into a fight without any idea of how to handle ourselves and ending up dead?”

“No.” Stiles said quickly, “Of course I don’t want that.”

“Good, glad we’re agreed on that.” Peter smirked, “I think you probably need to start with Scott, evidently he needs a lot of training.” 

“I didn’t…”

“Maybe tomorrow though if you have homework to do?” Peter continued as if Stiles hadn’t spoken. 

“You know, I’m really beginning to see how you and Derek are related.” Stiles muttered and Peter laughed. 

It was easy to fall into a new routine, there was always someone there after school to spar for a few hours before heading over to the loft, sometimes there were several someone’s and Stiles enjoyed those times, mainly because it he had three or four of the wolves attacking him he actually had to concentrate, especially when they started to improve, it meant that when he was finished, when he’d finally beaten them, he was just as exhausted as they were and it felt good. 

They were all improving quickly, learning that the best chance of beating him was to work as a team, that made Stiles smile happily, that they were all learning to work together, as a pack should. Derek was improving too, he’d actually managed to land a blow to Stiles the other day, Stiles had faked being in pain and when Derek came closer he shoved Derek over and pinned him in a second, a knife pressed to his neck. 

“You can’t show mercy.” Stiles said and Derek had blushed which Stiles found really confusing, before standing up and offering Derek a hand up, “Up until then you were doing really well.” He added and Derek smiled slightly, it made Stiles’ heart stutter but he ignored that, he couldn’t admit that he was crazy about Derek, that would just mess up this whole situation, just when they were all starting to bond again.

“Mr Stilinski!” Ms Blake called as he was trying to leave the classroom and head home for the weekend, Scott glanced back at him but Stiles waved him onwards. “I have another student who is struggling in one of my classes, I think you’ll be in the perfect tutor for her.” Ms Blake said and Stiles gaped at her.

“What?” He said in shock.

“Another student needs help; you are going to help her. She’ll be here in a moment.”

“But…”

“But what? You aren’t willing to assist your classmates? I’d hate to have to speak to your father about that at parent-teacher night, which is coming up soon isn’t it?” Ms Blake smirked and Stiles glared at her. 

“Ms Blake?” A voice said, Stiles turned to see Karen standing in the doorway, he groaned. “You wanted to see me?”

“Yes, Karen, come in. Stiles here has just very kindly offered to help you in your classwork. In fact, you’re free tonight aren’t you Stiles? I’m sure Karen would appreciate the assistance as soon as possible.”

“But it’s Friday night!” He moaned. 

“Thanks Stiles!” Karen said gleefully, “I can’t believe you offered to do this, I really appreciate it.” She chattered, “So do you want to go to my house? Or yours?” Stiles sighed heavily.

“Fine.” He glared at Ms Blake, “We’ll go to mine. But I do have plans so we can only work for an hour or so.” 

“That’s fine.” Karen said, “Plenty of time.” She smiled and Stiles felt like smacking his head against the wall.

‘Guys, no sparring tonight.’ He said telepathically as Karen walked beside him in the hallway.

‘What? Why?’ Came back a chorus of voices.

‘Ms Blake wants me to tutor Karen. We’re going to mine now, I’ll be rid of her in like an hour and then I’ll come across to the loft. Can one of you grab Brimmy before I get home? If she sees a dragon they’ll probably be some explaining to do.’

‘I’m not far from yours,’ Peter replied, ‘I’ll get him.’

‘Karen?’ Danny said, ‘Karen who gave you her number?’

‘That’s the one.’ Stiles sighed, ‘Probably failing her class on purpose just so she can get close to me and kill me.’

‘Stiles,’ Scott sighed heavily, ‘For the last time, she’s not trying to kill you.’

‘I’ll believe that when I see it.’ Stiles retorted.

“Oh,” Karen said from next to him, “I forgot, my mum dropped me off this morning, any chance I can ride with you?” She asked and Stiles shoved the last of his books out of his locker and into his bag. 

“Sure.” He said glumly. He’d been looking forward to sparring with the whole pack tonight. 

“Ok great, I can’t wait to see your house. Is your dad home tonight? It must be so cool to have a Sheriff as a dad.”

“No he’s on the late shift.” Stiles replied listening as Karen chatted animatedly for the rest of the trip as they drove back to Stiles’. Stiles showed her into the kitchen, offering her a drink, as he pulled out the relevant books, he had no idea why Ms Blake thought he could teach Karen, he barely paid attention in her class anyway. Karen asked to use the toilet after only a minute of looking at the book and Stiles told her where it was. 

‘How’s it going?’ Lydia asked.

‘I’m bored.’ Stiles replied, ‘She went to the loo like ten minutes ago. Who the hell spends that long in there?’

‘I bet she’s in your bedroom.’ Lydia teased. ‘Anyway, everyone here is bored too. Allison said you were going to go through throwing those enchanted knives with her tonight, she’s pissed at Ms Blake.’

‘She’s not the only one.’ Stiles replied, ‘And Karen wouldn’t go in my bedroom, she’s here to study.’

‘She’s there to try and make out with you.’ Lydia said, ‘Studying would just be a plus.’

‘Not you too!’ Stiles said, ‘She’s not flirting with me.’

‘We’ll see.’ Lydia replied.

Stiles waited for a few more minutes before he decided to head upstairs and check Karen was okay, he didn’t expect to see his bedroom door open and when he stuck his head through the door Karen was lay what he guessed was supposed to be seductively on his bed. The pack was never going to let him live this one down.

“Hey Stiles, I wondered if we could study up here instead?” Karen asked, batting her eyelashes at him. 

“I’ll just go grab the books.” He said, rushing out of the room and back downstairs to the kitchen. He didn’t want this, he didn’t even like Karen and there was still a small part of him that thought she probably was going to try and kill him at some point in the future.

“Hey, you were taking forever.” Karen said, walking around the kitchen table and leaning next to Stiles, Stiles just studied her for a moment, she didn’t look evil, but still, there was something he didn’t like about her, probably the fact she wasn’t Derek. She stroked his arm gently and he tried not to panic, he didn’t want to kiss her, he didn’t want her to touch him, didn’t want her anywhere near him. “Stiles,” She whispered, her lips very close to his, Stiles wanted to pull away but he was frozen in shock, he couldn’t move. She moved another inch closer, closing the gap between them and pressing her lips against his. 

Stiles felt an odd tingle that seemed to be getting stronger the longer she kissed him, he tried to pull away and couldn’t, while before he had been frozen in shock and fear now he was just frozen. He struggled, pushing all of his magic into breaking the kiss, the tingling had grown to a stinging now, a pain in his chest that made him feel sick. Karen was smiling now, her skin taking on an odd greyish tinge, her eyes turning purple and her teeth sharpening viciously. 

He threw his magic at the floor splintering it and as Karen swayed for balance the kiss was broken and Stiles stumbled backwards. Karen waved a hand in his direction and suddenly he was flying backwards through the window and landing hard on the grass outside. He reached for his magic and found that it was weak, barely there, like it had been drained somehow, Karen was stepping out of the broken widow now, smirking at Stiles evilly. 

“When Ms Blake said she thought you were the mage and to try and steal your power, I never dreamt of how easy it would be.” Karen taunted. Stiles got to his feet, glaring at Karen for a moment before deciding his best option right now was to run, she had his magic, he didn’t, his knives were in the drawer in the house, he had no weapon and he didn’t think he could beat her hand-to-hand when she had magic, he needed to run. 

He turned on his heel, sprinting for the forest, feeling the magic she threw at him missing him by inches.

‘Shit!’ Stiles cursed as he ran, dodging into the trees, ‘I was right, I’m always right, “oh no Stiles of course she’s not trying to kill you, she just wants to make out with you,” which is why I just got thrown through a window by my own goddamn magic that she stole and now am running through the fucking preserve with a homicidal fairy behind me. Thanks so much for that by the way.’ He complained, purposefully leaving his dad out of the conversation so he didn’t worry, ‘I’m never going to let you live this down. “Oh, Stiles, how can you not know when people are flirting with you? You are so oblivious.” Yeah, she’s trying to fucking kill me. I’m so right. All the time. You need to start listening to me!’ He ranted to the pack as he ran.

‘Tell us where you are.’ Derek’s voice came through loud and clear.

‘Like I fucking know.’ Stiles said, dodging another bolt of magic, ‘I’m in the preserve somewhere.’

‘Narrow it down.’ Derek ordered and Stiles glanced around.

‘It’s not like there’s road signs in the middle of the preserve Derek.’ Stiles retorted sarcastically, hearing Derek growl and smiling to himself, he wasn’t going to admit that maybe he kind of liked it when Derek got all protective sounding. ‘Danny, cast the tracking spell.’

‘I’ve only done that like one time before.’ Danny replied sounding stressed.

‘You’ll be fine, you can do it. Just get the pack here and don’t try fighting with magic, she feeds on it.’ Stiles said, trying to stay as calm as possible, despite the fact his hand was stinging from where he’d gone through the window and he was sure he was bleeding at least a little bit,

“Stiles!” Karen called out, “You should stop running. Ms Blake will be here soon. She’ll want you alive. I don’t want to have to kill you.”

Stiles stopped behind a tree, knowing that he was out of her sight and took a deep breath, he could feel his magic coming back slowly, so she hadn’t taken it really, just drained him for a few minutes but it was already making its way back to him, within a few more minutes she would be without magic again. He just needed to buy more time. 

“What did she promise you?” Stiles called, ducking as a bolt was blasted towards him, “Did she promise that you’d get to keep my magic if you helped her kill me?” He ran again, hearing Karen following him. 

“Come back Stiles, you can’t hide out here forever.” She called.

‘We’re coming Stiles.’ Danny said, ‘We’re only two minutes away.’

‘Good.’ Stiles said, taking a deep breath and stepping out from behind the tree. 

“Who’s hiding?” He called, hoping he’d felt this correctly, Karen aimed a blast of magic at him but nothing happened and Stiles grinned. “Impotence happens to a large amount of the population.” He taunted as Karen screamed in rage and launched herself at him. Stiles was surprised how quickly she moved, but he managed to block her blow just in time. She fought viciously, if she wasn’t trying to kill Stiles then he would almost be able to say he was impressed. She landed several blows, but Stiles landed several of his own, there was blood running down his arm and cheek, blood running from a large gash in her leg and another on her chest. 

He felt it when the pack arrived but he couldn’t afford to be distracted, Karen was a skilled fighter and he needed to concentrate. He saw an opening, knew it was going to hurt but decided to go for it anyway. He twisted violently, shoving the lower half of his left arm in her face, knowing she would take the opportunity and take a bite out of his limb. He avoided screaming as she did that, already following up with the sharp stick in his right hand and driving it deep into her heart. 

She looked at him in surprise, he pulled his arm from her mouth, driving the stick deeper into her heart, and watched as her eyes went blank, a look of surprise frozen on her features and his blood still staining her teeth. He followed her down, only pulling the stick from her heart when he was sure she was dead, then standing up, wiping the blood on his hands on his jeans and then turning to look at the pack. 

“Are you okay?” Derek was asking, rushing towards him but Stiles could only nod numbly, he felt a little bit sick, he’d killed a girl in his class, okay she was trying to kill him first, but he’d killed her. “You had to Stiles.” Derek said and Stiles looked up at him, had he said that out loud? “You had no choice. You had to.” Stiles nodded, he knew that, but still, he’d killed her. This was different to the other creatures he’d tackled over the summer, they were a threat to the town, to his family and there was barely any humanity left in any of them, but this, this felt as bad as George and the other hunters, as bad as Will and Gerard, this was a girl in his class and he’d killed her.

“It wasn’t your fault.” Danny said, touching him on the shoulder, “She would have killed you.” 

“Ms Blake is coming.” He said in shock, trying to focus on what was going to happen next rather than the look of shock on Karen’s face. “We should leave.”

“No.” Scott said, “We should stay and fight. She sent Karen after you to kill you Stiles, she needs to know she can’t do that. We stay, we fight.” 

“And kill her.” Isaac added and Scott gulped. 

“I didn’t mean we have to kill her.” He mumbled and Peter rolled his eyes.

“Sometimes I wonder if I made the right choice turning you.” Peter said.

“Hey.” Stiles said angrily, “Scott makes a great werewolf!” He said, waving his arm in Scott’s direction and splashing them with blood. 

“Aww, thanks man.” Scott gushed, “You make a great mage too! But maybe we should clean up the blood, just a little bit?”

“It’ll heal.” Stiles said, examining the large bite mark in his arm. Derek sighed, pulling off his shirt and pressing it hard against the wound in Stiles’ arm. “God you’re such a drama queen, it’s a flesh wound.” Stiles said rolling his eyes. 

“She bit you Stiles.” Derek hissed, “You don’t know what kind of germs she could have transferred.” He said and Stiles snorted.

“Seriously? You’re worried about germs right now?” 

“Yes.” Derek said angrily, “Why the hell did you stick your arm in her mouth?”

“Because I needed the shot at her heart and that was the only way I was going to get it.” Stiles said, he glanced down at the ground where Karen’s body lay, he pushed his magic forwards, watching as the ground slowly swallowed her up and then settled again. 

“I’ve never seen you fight like that.” Danny said quietly, “You were fast.”

“So was she.” Stiles shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal.

“I mean it Stiles,” Danny said seriously, “Just how much have you been holding back with us?” 

“Not much.” Stiles said.

“We couldn’t intervene because you were moving too quickly, if we attacked we could have hit you instead.” Cora said and Stiles stared at her in shock. 

“Well, that’s new to me.” He said, “But, I do think this means that I can totally handle going out by myself in the middle of the night.” He grinned at Derek, Derek only growled in reply. 

“This is a pleasant surprise; I didn’t expect to see you all here.” Ms Blake said stepping into the clearing, “I see Karen managed to leave a few marks before you undoubtedly killed her.” She said, smirking at Stiles.

“Nothing a few hours won’t fix.” Stiles said, glaring at her and stepping forwards, putting the pack behind him, Derek didn’t like that Stiles was closer to the danger than he was, he stepped closer to Stiles and saw Stiles roll his eyes at Derek’s actions. 

“You had me fooled Mr Stilinski,” Ms Blake smirked, “I’m impressed with your ability to hide your spark, it looks so weak, barely alight, and yet, you’ve just taken out a royal fairy which isn’t an easy task, the rest of her family are going to be incredibly pissed with you.”

Stiles paled slightly, he hadn’t realized Karen was part of the royal family, this was going to come back and bite him in the ass he was sure.

“Obviously it’s my only desire to impress you.” Stiles said sarcastically, “Usually I just impress people with my wit but evidently I failed with you on that one.” 

“Definitely.” Ms Blake replied. 

“So, how do you want to do this?” Stiles said, squaring his shoulders, “I mean, we easily outnumber you, we can outfight you, I can out-magic you without any issue, so the big question is, what exactly do you intend to do here? Because the only way I see this ending is with you leaving and never coming back or killing you which I’m sure you don’t want to happen.”

“You’re very confident in your abilities aren’t you?” Ms Blake said, “I’ll have you know that you are outmatched in magic. What, you think because you can move a bit of earth? manipulate a bit of air? draw runes to give yourself extra power? That you are any match for me? I think not.”

“And I think you have no idea what I’m capable of.” Stiles said, “I’ve taken down hunters and demons, I’ve incinerated vampires, I’ve killed elves and fairies, I’ve taken on trolls, wendigos. I’ve beaten creatures that I don’t even know what they’re called. I’ve gone to Hell and I returned with a dragon by my side. You can’t even begin to imagine what I’m capable of and if you want to live then you don’t want to find out.” Stiles said, his tone dangerous, Derek smirked as Ms Blake paled slightly, a look of grim determination still on her face. “So, I’ll say again, leave or fight and die, the choice is yours.” 

“I think I’ll choose the fight.” Ms Blake said, waving her hands and shoving the pack backwards towards the trees. Stiles shoved his magic at them, the mist forming around them a moment before they could hit the trees and softening the blow. 

Ms Blake shoved her magic again, nearly knocking Stiles off his feet, he managed to dodge the spell, throwing up a wall of earth and forcing it towards Ms Blake, stumbling in the process as the magic took more out of him than it usually did. He saw Derek getting to his feet, roaring loudly as he charged straight at Ms Blake, Stiles concentrated the mist around Derek, worried about him getting hurt. He saw her pull a knife, forced the mist to pack even tighter together, to protect Derek at all costs, she must have realised this as she used her magic to throw Derek back down to the ground. 

Stiles jumped up, raced at her while her back was turned and jumped onto her back, wrapping a strong arm around her neck. She swung around trying to displace Stiles, he could feel the waves of black magic pouring off her, sinking into his skin and making him feel sick, he clung tighter. Derek charged again, his eyes flashing red in determination.

‘Hold on Stiles!’ Derek ordered and Stiles used as much magic as he could to hold on, to keep her in place. Stiles saw Derek’s claws sink deep into her flesh and then suddenly there was a large blast of black magic that threw Stiles backwards towards the trees, he had a moment of panic before he hit a tree and everything went black around him. 

Derek felt his claws sink deep into the woman’s flesh, watched her eyes glaze over slightly and then he was being blasted backwards into the trees. He stumbled to his feet, glanced at the rest of the pack that were getting slowly to their feet, they must have been knocked over by the blast too, they all looked a bit shaken but otherwise okay. He saw Ms Blake’s body lying in the middle of the clearing, the ground looking black and dead around it. 

“Stiles?” He called out, Stiles wasn’t there, where the hell was he? He looked up, saw Stiles lying slumped against a tree on the other side of the clearing. “Stiles!” He said in a panic, rushing over to him, he looked so still and surely he hadn’t always been that pale. “Stiles!” He said again when there was no response, terror overwhelming him when he smelt more blood than he’d expected.

“Ow!” Stiles groaned as consciousness returned to him, his head hurt a lot, he raised his hand up to touch it and someone smacked his hand away, Stiles could feel pressure on the wound now, someone holding something against his head. “What happened?” He asked, trying to figure out what was going on and who was leaning over him and why they seemed to be putting off as much heat as Brimmy did sometimes. 

“Are you okay?” A voice said, Stiles blinked, that sounded like Derek’s voice, but it couldn’t be, because it actually sounded worried. 

“I’m fine.” Stiles said, pushing at the body that was hovering over him, that was stifling him. 

“Would you stay still for a minute please?” Derek said and Stiles suddenly realized that it was Derek hovering over him, he was glad he couldn’t see any of the others. 

“What happened?” He asked again, his head really hurt. 

“When Derek killed her it set off some kind of spell,” Danny said drawing healing runes on the back of his neck and hoping it helped, “It blew us all backwards, you just happened to collide with a tree.” 

“Great.” Stiles said sighing heavily and resting his head against the body in front of him, before abruptly remembering that it was Derek he was leaning against and pulling backwards, making his head hurt. 

“Jesus.” Derek snarled, “Would you just stay still while Allison tries to stitch this up!” He said and Stiles sighed heavily. Derek wasn’t going to say that seeing Stiles so hurt was causing him to struggle to stay in control, all his wolf wanted to do was protect Stiles from every threat, instead he had to hold him steady, draining the pain, while Allison stitched closed the large gash in the back of his head.

“Allison?” Stiles asked in confusion.

“Hey Stiles,” She said, touching the back of his neck gently, “You’ve got a big cut on the back of your head, I’m stitching it up and Derek is draining the pain, as soon as it’s sealed then we can get you up and to your bed, does that sound okay?”

“No.” Stiles said, “We need to burn my sheets first. Karen was rolling around on them.” 

“Told you she’d be in your room.” Lydia said.

“Told you she was trying to kill me.” Stiles retorted, resting his head against Derek’s leg again, because damn it, it was comfortable. Derek shifted his hand slightly and Stiles felt the pain come rushing back as he stopped draining the pain. “Fuck.” He whined, his head really hurt, he was sure he was going to be sick, he couldn’t stop himself from throwing up, even when Derek’s hand touched his head again. 

Derek chewed his lip nervously as Stiles leaned sideways and threw up all over the ground. “What’s going on?” He whispered to Allison in horror, he’d only moved his hand for a moment so that he could move the cloth he was keeping pressed against the stitched part of the wound, then Stiles was throwing up, crying out in pain and Derek was panicking. “Stiles, what’s wrong?” He asked.

“Hurts.” Stiles muttered and Derek cursed, trying to draw more pain from Stiles and sighing in relief when Stiles relaxed against him again. 

“Shouldn’t it be starting to heal by now?” Derek said to Danny worriedly.

“I don’t know.” Danny said, “The runes should be working. I mean, they are working, he’s conscious now, and he’s talking.”

“But he’s throwing up?” Derek said confused, surely that was a bad sign.

“People with concussions tend to do that.” Stiles muttered, his voice sounding as exhausted as he felt. Stiles leaned against Derek’s leg again, he didn’t care that Derek was going to be pissed about it, it was comfortable and he was tired and it felt nice. 

“People with concussions also aren’t allowed to go to sleep.” Scott whispered from nearby and if Stiles could growl at him, he would, nobody was stopping him from going to sleep right now. 

“All finished.” Allison said and Stiles was relieved, surely the drumming in his head would start to ease soon. 

“Alright, help me up, I need my bed.” Stiles said, making grabby hands to whoever was closest.

“No chance, you are not standing up just yet.” Derek growled, “Just stay still for a minute please.” He said sounding annoyed at Stiles, probably because of the whole leaning on him thing Stiles thought. “Isaac, Jackson, Ethan you take the lead, shout if there’s any problems, we don’t know how quickly these fairies might decide to attack, we should repair the window at the house, Aiden, Scott, Erica can you get started on that? Peter, Boyd, would you be able to take care of her body?”

“I can do that.” Stiles muttered, waving his hand in Ms Blake’s direction, expecting the earth to swallow her slowly, instead a deep hole opened up and her body tumbled in before sealing shut again with a bang. “Oops.” Stiles muttered, he hadn’t meant to do that. “Did she get the control rune?” Stiles said horrified, twisting around to pull up his shirt and check and then deciding that wasn’t the best idea when his head decided to pound incredibly loudly and he wanted to throw up again. 

“No.” Danny said quickly, grabbing his hands and holding them still, “No Stiles, they’re fine, you just aren’t quite yourself at the moment. Ms Blake’s magic took a lot out of you.”

“It felt pretty icky.” Stiles said tiredly and Danny half grinned.

“I’m sure it did. But, you’ve hit your head and your body is still trying to get rid of the black magic. It just means you aren’t at full strength, so you need to take it easy, and no magic until you feel better.”

“Such a spoilsport.” Stiles whined. “Can we go home now? I’m cold.” He said, surprised when Derek seemed to move closer and more heat poured off him. “Wow, you’re like nearly as hot as Brimmy.” He said, not caring that Derek would probably yell at him later as he snuggled slightly closer, his head still throbbing. 

He thought he must have fallen asleep for a little while because when he next opened his eyes he was staring at the fireplace in his front room and Derek’s face was staring at him from a few inches away looking incredibly worried. He could hear banging in the kitchen which he assumed was Aiden, Scott and Erica attempting to repair the window, he didn’t even want to imagine what kind of mess that was going to be.

“How are you feeling?” Derek said and Stiles winced when he tried to move, although the pounding in his head seemed to have lessened slightly. 

“I’m okay.” Stiles said, reaching to the back of his head and feeling the drying blood there.

“Don’t mess with it.” Derek scolded, smacking his hand away.

“Jesus.” Stiles said, “What is with you!?” He asked in confusion.

“What’s with me!?” Derek said, practically shouting, “You had your head split open Stiles! You nearly died!”

“Did not.” Stiles muttered in sulkily in reply. 

“Oh really?” Derek said raising an eyebrow, “What exactly classifies as you nearly dying?” 

“I don’t know, a coma at the very least?” Stiles suggested.

“No comas.” Derek growled and Stiles grinned.

“Okay, no comas, no nearly dying, got it.” Stiles said, yawning and glancing towards the stairs, he was thinking about going to bed, but he was quite comfortable here and it was warm and he didn’t really want to move. 

“We’re going to have to keep waking you up every few hours.” Danny said, as if reading his mind, “You might as well just stay where you are.” 

“I don’t need waking up.” Stiles whined, momentarily thinking about how it was going to disturb everyone else’s sleep if he stayed here. “You guys can go home, I’ll be fine.”

“No.” Peter said and Stiles glanced at him shocked, “Firstly, your dad is at the station until morning, apparently unaware of our situation earlier,” Stiles blushed guiltily, “So there’s no chance that we’d leave you alone in the house when you’ve suffered a serious head injury and may quite possibly have to fight off the royal fairy family at some point soon.” Peter held up a finger to silence him when Stiles looked ready to interrupt him, “Secondly, as previously mentioned, you’ve suffered a serious head injury. You were out for a good five minutes, that means, even with your slightly enhanced healing, that you are going to have a bad head for a few days and a definite concussion, which means you are going to be woken up at regular intervals tonight whether you like it or not so get comfortable because we’re all in for a long night.”

“You are such a grumpy guts.” Stiles mumbled, snuggling into the cushions and closing his eyes.

Derek settled into the cushions next to Stiles, not comfortable moving any distance away from him after having nearly lost him again, unfortunately it was becoming a bit of a pattern and Derek wouldn’t let it happen again if he could help it. 

The rest of the pack settled around them, leaning against each other, all of them having physical contact with one another in some way, it reminded Derek of how his family used to be, before the fire, it made him feel for the first time that this pack was whole, that they were finally together, finally pack.

He stretched his arm out, pulling Stiles’ sleeping form into the pile that was forming around them, Stiles snuggled slightly closer to him and Derek’s heart thudded loudly in his chest, this felt right. 

Stiles woke up slowly, someone was shaking him slightly to wake him up, his head ached and he felt like he was pressed up against a radiator. When he opened his eyes Derek was looking at him and Stiles realized that he was cuddled up against Derek’s side. He made to move away but Derek glared at him and held him still, Stiles looked around at the rest of the pack, piled up around the foot of the couch, obviously this was some kind of bonding, it was just unlucky for Derek that he’d ended up sat next to Stiles. Derek obviously didn’t want to be the one sat next to him but now that he was he wasn’t going to disturb the rest of the pack by allowing Stiles to move. 

“How are you feeling?” Derek asked and Stiles winced slightly, his head still hurt and his muscles ached, like a deep muscle ache from exhaustion. 

“Tired.” Stiles mumbled quietly, not wanting to disturb any of the others, but too exhausted to use telepathic conversation.

“I’ll make it quick.” Derek said, “What’s your name?”

“Stiles.” Stiles replied, rolling his eyes.

“What’s the date?”

“Twenty Ninth of September.”

“What school do you go to?”

“Beacon Hills.” Stiles said, his eyes already slipping closed again, “Sleep again now?”

“Yeah Stiles, go back to sleep.” Derek said and Stiles drifted easily back to sleep.

Next time Stiles woke up he didn’t bother trying to pull away from Derek, or even bother opening his eyes as he answered the questions. When the sunlight started to brighten the front room Stiles felt a lot better, Derek must have finally gone to sleep, his arm still holding Stiles close to him, Stiles blinked his eyes open, surprised to see the rest of the pack were all still fast asleep. He managed to slip out of Derek’s grip, glad when it didn’t wake the werewolf up, and climbed carefully from the pile before heading upstairs. 

He looked at himself in the mirror, he looked pale but that wasn’t exactly unusual, the dried blood at the back of his neck was new though, along with blood on his arm still from Karen’s bite and a bit more on his cheek. He reached up and touched the back of his head, wincing slightly, it was still kind of tender but it felt much better than it had done last night, at least he didn’t feel like throwing up anymore. He felt pretty disgusting though, possibly from the dried blood, or Ms Blake’s black magic, or even Karen kissing him. He decided the werewolves would probably appreciate it if he got rid of the smell so he got undressed slowly and got into the shower. 

He rinsed the blood from his skin slowly, wincing as he cleaned his head and it throbbed painfully. By the time he got out of the shower he was exhausted, he managed to get to his room, throw on some sweats and then stand staring at his bed. The sheets were still slightly rumpled from where Karen had lay on them and he was still quite serious about burning them, he pulled the bedcovers off and quickly as he could and piled them on the floor. 

“Stiles?” Derek’s voice came from the doorway sounding concerned and Stiles turned to look at him, “What are you doing?” His nose wrinkling slightly. 

“Karen was on my bed. I wanted to burn the sheets.” Stiles said slowly and Derek glared at the sheets in disgust. “It’s not like I wanted her in here.” He whispered, “She was supposed to be going to the toilet and then I got up here and she was just lying on my bed.” Stiles sounded upset but Derek didn’t know how to comfort him. “Are the rest of them still asleep?” Stiles asked nervously, worried that he’d disturbed them with his shower, Derek nodded. “She kissed me.” Stiles confessed, sinking onto the now sheet free bed. “I didn’t want her too.” Stiles said as Derek stood in the doorway looking angry, he probably thought Stiles was being a drama queen, “I didn’t expect her too and when she did, I just kind of froze, I know it was pathetic, but I panicked and I froze, and then she was sucking my magic out of me and there was nothing I could do.” 

“It’s not pathetic Stiles.” Derek replied, his voice sounding closer to a growl than normal. “You’ve had some really bad experiences with people in the past few months, anyone would have reacted like that.” Stiles let out an odd half sob half laugh.

“Yeah, bad experiences, that’s a good thing to call it.” He said, “I have to start getting some good experiences soon though right? Like an actual first kiss with someone who isn’t about to kill me?” Derek looked even more angry and Stiles wasn’t sure what he’d said wrong, “Not like it’s a big deal, I’m sure plenty of people have their first kiss with psychos right?” He tried to joke, “Anyway, it’s not important, but what it important is getting rid of Karen’s smell from these sheets, I’m sure fairies probably stink.” He said, gathering up the sheets and ignoring the way that Derek’s whole body seemed to have tensed up and headed downstairs, Derek following him to the kitchen past the still sleeping pack.

“Just so I’ve got this straight,” Derek hissed angrily and Stiles gulped, he’d obviously really pissed Derek off somehow, “Karen was your first kiss?” Stiles shook his head, that hurt, he decided not to do it again for a while.

“No, technically George was. Karen was the second. But I’m not sure if they count, because, well, with George I wasn’t really overly conscious and Karen was sucking my magic out, so I don’t think they count really?” Stiles rambled.

“They don’t count.” Derek grumbled quietly and Stiles nodded. “They were assaults Stiles, not kisses.”

“Okay, alright then, well then, that’s good.” Stiles said, glad that Derek seemed so convinced about this, “I really didn’t want to have to tell people that my first kiss was with a guy I’d then killed and the second was with a fairy who I’d then also killed. Like, seriously, if I end up having to kill the next person I kiss then I’m going to give up completely.” Derek grinned slightly and Stiles smiled, at least Derek wasn’t still annoyed at him he hoped.

Derek had been worried when he’d woken up and found Stiles missing, he’d heard him moving around upstairs and managed to extract himself from the pile without too much of an issue. When he found Stiles stripping his bed, the scent of the fairy still filling the room, Derek fought back a growl, he didn’t like her scent in here, it was wrong. 

When Stiles confessed that Karen had kissed him, that he’d frozen, that he had panicked for a moment and then it was too late that she’d been sucking his magic out and Stiles couldn’t do anything. Derek had wanted to hug him, hold him, tell him that it wasn’t his fault, that everything would be okay, except then Stiles had said that George had been his first kiss and Derek was sure he was going to murder someone. He clenched his fists, allowing his claws to dig into the tender flesh of his palms, it was the only thing that was going to stop him from locking Stiles in this room and stopping anyone else from ever getting anywhere near him.

Trust Stiles to make poor jokes about people sexually assaulting him, it was kind of what Stiles did, making poor jokes, at his own expense most of the time. Derek smiled slightly, it was nice to see Stiles act so normal considering how traumatic the past few months had been. Derek made a promise to himself that he would do everything in his power to make sure Stiles was as safe as he could be.

Peter wandered into the room a moment later and grinned at Stiles wickedly.

“Try and avoid sirens and shapeshifters then, we don’t want you losing your virginity to them.” Peter said and Stiles blushed brightly. “Of course, if you want a hand with that, I’d be more than happy to help.” Peter said, Derek growled in his direction, effectively waking up the rest of the pack and Stiles turned an even brighter shade of red.

“While I still have some brain cells capable of functioning that’s going to be a definite no.” Stiles replied, Scott appeared in the doorway, laughing slightly at Stiles’ comment as he headed towards the coffee pot.

Noah opened the door to find his house full of werewolves, he was kind of getting used to this now, it was nice to come home to a full house, a house full of life, he’d missed it.

“How’s your head?” Danny asked and Stiles shrugged.

“Your head?” Noah said in confusion, “Why? What happened now?” He sighed, already heading over to look at Stiles, coming to a stop when he saw the stitched cut on the back of Stiles’ head, it looked to be healing, but it still looked serious, “What the hell is that!?” He shouted and Stiles winced. Noah glared at the pack, waiting for an explanation, which is when he saw the badly repaired window that was broken and he looked at Stiles in worry.

“Evil witch, black magic, Derek killed her, big explosion, hard tree and boom.” Stiles said and Scott muffled a laugh behind his hand. 

“Don’t forget the fairy that tried to kill you.” Lydia said and Noah looked at him in shock.

“Fairy?” He muttered.

“That was trying to kill me.” Stiles confirmed, “Scott and Danny were both convinced, actually, no, scratch that, like the entire pack was convinced that she was flirting with me and that she wanted to make out with me. I told them she was trying to kill me. I was totally right about that one by the way.”

“So she wasn’t trying to flirt with you?” Noah said confused.

“Nope, totally just trying to kill me.” Stiles said, drinking some coffee and wincing slightly when his head throbbed. Derek placed a hand on the back of his neck and Stiles sighed in pleasure when the pain receded. “Thanks dude.” Stiles said and Derek rolled his eyes. 

“Why didn’t you call me?” Noah said in shock.

“I had it under control.” Stiles said. 

“Until you broke my window?” Noah said incredulously.

“Well, technically, yes I broke it, but Karen was the one who threw me through it. So, that wasn’t my fault.”

“Karen being the fairy?” Noah asked and Stiles nodded, “So she threw you through our window?”

“Yeah.” Stiles said.

“She’s dead though, right?” 

“Yes. Very. I put a stick through her heart.” 

“A stick?” Noah queried.

“Well, obviously, I put a bit of magic into it to make sure it didn’t break when I stabbed her.” Stiles replied.

“Obviously.” Noah said, rolling his eyes. “Then the evil witch decided to crack your head open?”

“Yep.” Stiles said, “But, it’s healing, so don’t worry.”

“That’s becoming your motto.” Noah complained and Stiles grinned. 

“Since it’s becoming evident that I’m right about everything then you should probably just agree with me and stop worrying so much.”

“God, you are not going to let this drop are you?” Danny whined.

“Erm, homicidal fairy tried to murder me, nope, not letting it drop anytime soon.” Stiles smirked.

“We should probably address the issue of the rest of the royal family.” Peter said, glancing at his phone when it vibrated with a message. 

“Royal family?” Noah spluttered.

“Oh, yeah, Karen apparently was part of the royal family of fairies. According to the evil witch anyway, she might have been lying.” He said hopefully.

“We might have a bigger problem.” Peter said, looking at his phone and the whole pack turned to look at him. “I’ve just had a text from a pack member from San Diego, they are requesting a meeting with the Alpha of the Hale pack. They’ll be in Beacon Hills tomorrow.”

“What?” Cora said in confusion. “Why? Does it say what they want?” 

“Just that they want to discuss something and they need access to our territory.”

“That doesn’t sound ominous at all.” Stiles said sighing. “I suppose I best go refresh my wards then. If we’ve got a pack coming to town, they need to be strong.” 

“You aren’t going anywhere yet.” Derek said, he was still drawing a lot of pain from Stiles and it worried him.

“Well, since I’m the only one who can check my wards, I’m going to say yes I am.” Stiles replied, even though he didn’t actually move from his seat. 

“Later. They aren’t due until tomorrow. Right now, it’s more important that you heal.” Derek said. 

“I’ll be fine.” 

“Also, your other new motto.” Noah said and Stiles laughed gently.

“I will be.” Stiles insisted, “Besides, it’s not a huge job, I just need to check the bond between them.”

“Can’t you do it telepathically?” Scott asked

“Considering my head feels like it’s got its own drumbeat I’m trying to avoid that right now.” Stiles replied.

“Which means you definitely aren’t up to going to check them physically either.” Derek agued and Stiles turned slightly to glare at him. “All I’m saying is that you sleep a bit longer, you heal properly and then we go check your wards.”

“I don’t need a babysitter.” Stiles scowled.

“Tough.” Derek replied. “Until this thing with the royal family and whatever this other pack want is resolved then I don’t want anyone by themselves, we stick together as much as possible.” 

“Oh my god.” Stiles said, rolling his eyes dramatically. “You’re such a drama queen.” Danny snorted slightly at the look on Derek’s face and muffled it as best he could. 

“If Stiles is going to go sleep,” Danny said, taking Isaac’s hand, “Then Isaac and I are going to go sort his bed out.”

“Why does his bed need sorting out?” Noah said confused.

“The sheets need burning.” Stiles explained as Danny and Isaac disappeared upstairs. A few minutes later Jackson groaned covering his ears slightly and Stiles glared at the ceiling. “Are they making out in my room?” He said in disgust as Peter nodded. “No making out in my room!” Stiles shouted and he heard Danny yelp in surprise and something fall over. “Don’t break anything!” He shouted even louder not caring that it made his head hurt. “Okay,” He said standing up and heading back towards the couch, “Since there’s no chance I’m going to use my bed again ever then I’m making the couch my new home. Okay? Okay.” Stiles muttered, not caring that it would probably only be the wolves that could hear him. He sunk down onto the couch, snuggled into the cushions, felt Brimmy land on the couch by his stomach, the heat warming Stiles instantly, and he dropped off to sleep with ease.


	11. Chapter 11

He spent the day sleeping, occasionally waking when someone moved and disturbed him, but only a sort of half wakefulness, one that felt more like a dream than reality, something that left a warm glow in his chest and made him slip easily back into sleep. 

“Stiles.” Someone was shaking his shoulder gently, he blinked blearily up at Danny, he’d been on the verge of a nightmare, George’s face fresh in his mind, he blinked a few times before it all started to clear properly and he sat up slowly. The pack was all looking at him with worry and he wondered what he’d done to earn those looks. “I couldn’t get through to you.” Danny said and Stiles blushed, he must have been really out of it.

‘Did I say anything?’ Stiles asked him telepathically and Danny shook his head

‘No, they heard your heart start to beat faster, it was more of a warning than I get. I tried to get through to you but I couldn’t. I figured that I’d try touching you and hoped you weren’t too deep.’

‘I wasn’t, was I?’ Stiles said with worry.

‘No. You’re fine. It must have barely started.’ 

‘Okay.’ Stiles said nodding, clearing his throat slightly before getting up to go get a drink. It was starting to go dark outside and his head felt a lot better, he knew he should probably get going, checking his wards would take an hour or two and he’d prefer to get a good night’s sleep if they were going to face this other pack tomorrow. 

“How are you feeling?” Lydia asked from behind him and Stiles glanced back at her.

“I’m getting really sick of everyone asking me that. I’m fine.” Stiles said.

“You’ll have to put up with it for a bit longer at the very least.” Lydia said, “We care about you Stiles, we just want to make sure you’re doing okay.” 

“I’m fine.” Stiles said again and Lydia frowned at him, “I am.” He insisted, “I’ve had worse than this.” He said and Lydia sighed.

“That’s not the point Stiles. It doesn’t matter that you’ve had worse, it matters that you’ve been hurt now and we care about that, about you.”

“So everyone keeps saying.” Stiles grumbled, before sighing heavily, “It’s just going take me some time Lydia, I’m used to doing things myself, or relying on Danny or my dad, it’s going to take me time to adjust, time to know that I can rely on you and time for you to know you can rely on me too.”

“I know we can rely on you Stiles. You saved my life so many times I can’t even count them anymore. I know I can trust you to be there for me Stiles, but if it takes you time to trust me then I understand that.”

“It’s not that I don’t trust you guys.” Stiles said, trying to find the right words, “It’s just, I’m used to managing alone, I’m used to dealing with everything, you know, like, it’s not that I don’t trust you, you know that, it’s just, I’m not explaining it very well.” Stiles mumbled.

“I know what you’re trying to say Stiles. It’ll take time to learn that we have your back, that you don’t have to deal with all of this by yourself, and we’ll all still be here when you’re ready.”

“As touching as all this is,” Jackson said, leaning in the doorway, “I assume Stilinski wants to go check out his wards before full dark. We should get going.”

“I am not hiking through the woods in these heels.” Lydia replied, “Why don’t some of us stay here instead?”

“Derek doesn’t want us splitting up.” Cora said, “We’re stronger together.”

“We’ll be safe here.” Lydia said, “Besides, I’m only going to slow you down. It would make sense for me to stay here.”

“Babe,” Jackson whined, “It’s not safe here. What if something happens and I’m not here?”

“If you want, it wouldn’t take me long to draw some wards.” Stiles said, “That’ll protect whoever stays in the house. If that would make you feel better?” Jackson looked at Stiles like he’d grown a second head.

“You’d do that for us?” He said in shock, “Even though it takes energy from you and you aren’t feeling brilliant anyway?”

“Of course I would.” Stiles said, “I wouldn’t let anything happen to you guys if I could help it.”

“We know that.” Erica said, “It goes both ways you know?” 

“So I’m being told.” Stiles grinned, crouching down to grab his knives, strapping them to his wrists, stashing a larger one in the back of his trousers and pulling out his sharpened bat.

“What is that?” Scott said in shock.

“If you think he’s lethal with hand-to-hand, you should see him with that thing.” Danny grinned as Stiles tossed him the bat.

“Give me half an hour, I’ll protect the house, then we’ll go check the wards, okay?”

“Sounds like a plan.” Derek said, watching Stiles carefully, he looked okay, other than the still healing wound at the back of his head, he didn’t seem as frail as he had done last night, or even this morning, he looked steady and in control. Derek hoped they wouldn’t need to fight anything tonight, that it would just be a simple checking of the wards and then home, Stiles needed to rest.

Stiles reappeared twenty minutes later with a small smile of triumph of his lips. 

“All done.” He said, “Ready to go?” He asked as he took the bat from Danny. 

“Yep.” Scott said. 

“You know me and Danny can handle it?” Stiles said.

“But we’re coming with you both just in case.” Scott said, “Only, Isaac, Derek, Peter and me though. The rest of the pack are going to stay here.” Stiles smiled slightly.

“Okay, a bit of overkill, but sure, why not.” He said, already heading towards the door.

“Overkill?” Peter smirked, “Says the boy with the bat?” Stiles grinned.

“This bat could take you out in an instant. Don’t mess with it.”

“Or the person wielding it.” Danny added and Peter laughed. 

“Believe me, even I wouldn’t be that idiotic.”

“Good.” Stiles said, “Let’s get going then.”

They trudged through the preserve, Derek only a step behind Stiles at all times, ready to defend him against any attack. Derek was tense the entire time, expecting an attack at any moment, but Stiles seemed calm and in control as he refreshed the wards, even if Derek noticed that his fingers tightened on the bat once or twice.

They were heading back towards the main road when Stiles stilled.

‘Something’s coming.’ Stiles said telepathically.

‘Where?’ Danny said, coming to a stop and his fists clenching at his sides.

‘From the North. Fast.’ Stiles informed them, the bat swinging slightly at his side. They all turned in that direction, Derek heard the beat of two hearts a moment later and wondered how the hell Stiles had known that they were coming. Two fairies appeared from the trees only a minute after that, grey skin almost glowing in the dark, their purple eyes shining viciously. The two males, one younger and one older, both glaring at Stiles with hatred.

“You’re the mage who murdered my daughter?” The older male snarled and Derek grimaced, this wasn’t going to end well.

“I am.” Stiles said firmly. “I’m sorry.” He said, his voice full of sorrow.

“You will die for this.” The man, who could only be the king, replied.

“Your daughter attempted to steal my magic and then kill me.” Stiles said, his grip tight on the bat, “I didn’t want to kill her but I was left with no other choice.”

“My sister would not be so stupid to attempt to steal anyone’s magic.” The younger male said and Stiles frowned.

“She was helping a dark druid, one who convinced her that she’d be able to cast a spell that meant Karen would keep my powers.”

“You’re lying.” The king snarled and Stiles glared back at him.

“What reason do I have to lie?” Stiles replied, “I don’t want to fight you, I don’t want to have to kill you too. But I will if I have too. Don’t make me.” 

“You could not kill us.” The younger male said.

“Quiet Rick.” The King said. 

“Your majesty,” Stiles said, trying again to talk them out of this, “I am sorry about what I did to your daughter, I can’t even begin to imagine how much you hate me. But I had no choice in the matter and if it came to the same situation again, I would do it again. Please, don’t make the same mistake as her. Don’t force me to fight you when it will only result in your death.”

“We would kill you.” Rick snarled.

“If you managed to, and that is a big if, I have a witch and four werewolves behind me, you’d have to take them out too. Do you really think you can do that too?”

“We won’t let you get away with this. Father, he has to pay for Karen’s death. If you won’t fight him, then I will.” Rick took a step forward and Derek snarled, his eyes flashing red, but Stiles held up a hand, telling him to stay in place.

“I don’t want to fight you Rick.” Stiles said, his grip moving on the bat slightly so he was prepared to fight.

“You don’t get a choice.” Rick said, leaping forwards and almost connecting with Stiles, except Stiles had swung the bat in the same moment, knocking Rick backwards a few steps. Rick charged again, and Stiles knocked him back again, Danny held Derek back from intervening, the others watching on with worry as Stiles fought against Rick, it wasn’t as brutal as it had been with Karen, Stiles seemed in better form and it wasn’t nearly as fast or as dangerous, as if Stiles was humouring Rick, but was not in any way fighting back. 

Rick roared as he charged forwards again, Stiles swung quickly around behind him, shoving him to the ground and holding the sharpened end of the bat against the back of his head. 

“I don’t want to kill you Rick. Admit defeat and I’ll let you live.” Stiles said and Rick grunted from the floor.

“Never. You murdered my sister.” 

“Enough Rick.” The king said heavily. “You deserve death for killing my daughter, but it is evident that we are outmatched. You have showed my son mercy and for that I thank you.” 

“I am sorry for your daughter.” Stiles said, “But I would never want to kill anyone if it wasn’t necessary.”

“I will let you live mage and we will leave you be, but you are no friend of the fairies and we will not willingly offer you any assistance.”

“I understand.” Stiles said, allowing Rick up from the ground. “Thank you your majesty.” He said as both the King and Rick turned to leave.

“Do you honestly think they’ll let this go?” Peter asked and Stiles shrugged.

“I don’t know fairies that well, the ones I’ve met have all been vindictive and brutal, I didn’t expect there to be any way to talk them out of a fight. It might be that he’s just pretending, that as soon as I turn my back he’ll attack, but I want to give them the benefit of the doubt.” Stiles said, already moving towards the road, towards home. 

“We’ll have to be careful.” Danny said.

“We will be. But right now, the only thing I want to think about is bed. Well, no, actually I want to think about sleep, since I don’t know if you got round to burning those sheets when you were busy making out with each other in my room.” Stiles teased.

“You’re only jealous.” Danny grinned.

“Yeah,” Stiles said rolling his eyes, “Honestly, I’m so incredibly jealous of you, making out with Isaac would be great I’m sure.” Stiles winked at Isaac who blushed with surprise and Danny glared at him.

“That’s not funny.” Danny said.

“I don’t know,” Stiles said, shrugging his shoulders easily, “I found it pretty funny.” He laughed as Danny threw a pebble at him and Stiles dodged out of the way. “Anyway, it’s not like you have anything to be worried about. Isaac, as adorable as you are, I am not wasting my first kiss on just anyone you know?” He grinned, Derek smiled easily, he would be making sure that Stiles didn’t waste his first kiss, or any other firsts he wanted to try. 

They made it back to the house without any further incidents and Derek was extremely glad about that, because no matter how much Stiles laughed and joked and grumbled, he still looked exhausted. As soon as they got through the door Stiles headed to the couch and collapsed, snuggling up to Brimmy and falling asleep within moments, the knives still at his wrists and the bat resting on the floor by his feet.

“How did it go?” Allison asked, looking at Scott, examining him for injuries.

“We’re fine. We ran into the fairy King and his son, but Stiles managed to talk them into leaving without too much of a fight.” 

“And they agreed to that?” Lydia said in confusion.

“Yes, although Stiles reckons they’ll probably just wait until he isn’t expecting it.” Isaac said.

“They’ll be waiting a long time.” Danny said, eyeing Stiles asleep on the couch. “He’s always ready for danger.”

“Not if he’s asleep.” Cora said worriedly.

“Yes he is, it’s just he’s safe here, he’d be able to tell if someone meant him serious harm and he’d be ready for them.” Danny informed them then turned to look at Peter seriously, “That does not mean you can test that theory in any way, and if you do, you’ll have me to answer to.” He threatened.

“And me.” Derek added, flashing his eyes at Peter who nodded in submission.

“You do spoil my fun sometimes.” Peter grumbled and Derek laughed quietly. 

Stiles woke up surrounded by heat, something had woken him abruptly but he wasn’t sure what it was, he was sprawled across the couch, Brimmy was pressed against his stomach, but Stiles could feel the heat of another body pressed against his legs and waist, when he glanced down he could see the top of Derek’s head and he tried to stay absolutely still, terrified of disturbing the sleeping Alpha. 

He looked quickly around the room, not really surprised to see the rest of the pack sprawled across the front room, Scott’s hair practically tickling Stiles’ nose from how close he was sleeping. He felt something odd with his wards, something he’d never felt before, it felt almost like someone was knocking. He was on the verge of sleep, just drifting towards sleep again when he felt it again and he startled awake.

“What’s going on?” Derek said, jerking upwards and Stiles felt a little guilty over waking him up, even though sleepy Derek might just be the cutest thing he’d ever seen. “Stiles, what’s going on?” He said, waking up the rest of the pack and seemingly not caring that he was still half lying on Stiles and Stiles’ mind stuttered to a stop at how good it would feel to wake up every morning with Derek lying on him. “Stiles!” Derek growled, sitting up properly and Stiles blinked a few times at the loss of contact.

“Someone’s knocking on my wards.” He said, jumping slightly in surprise when it happened again. “Like they’re waiting for an invitation? Do you think it’s the other pack?” Peter was standing up, smoothing out his clothes and glancing at his phone as it vibrated with an incoming text.

“So it would seem.” Peter said as he read the text, “They’re waiting outside the wards for our arrival.”

“Alright, everyone up.” Derek said and Stiles whined slightly, he didn’t want to get up, he wanted to stay snuggled on the couch for the rest of his life. “Even you. Come on. We don’t know what they want. It’ll be a good idea if you were there, just in case.”

“Fine.” Stiles grumbled, running a hand over his face to wake himself up and touching the back of his head to feel the healed wound from Ms Blake. He checked his weapons were all still ready to go, passed Allison, Lydia and Danny some of the enchanted knives he’d prepared in case they were necessary, Brimmy shrinking to the size of a kitten and curling up in the pocket of his jumper and then headed towards the door.

It took them half an hour to get to the wards and the other pack which was much larger than Stiles had expected, easily double the size of Derek’s pack. Stiles had decided to play it cool, sticking to the back of the pack until he knew what the other pack was planning. They arrived in a clearing, the other pack standing on the opposite side, his wards in between them. He leaned casually against a tree while Derek stepped forwards and the other Alpha, a man named James Andrews stepped towards him.

“Alpha Hale, a pleasure to meet you.” James said.

“And you Alpha Andrews.” Derek replied. 

“Thank you for agreeing to meet with us.” 

“You gave me little choice.” Derek replied.

“My apologies Alpha Hale, but it was quite important that we came sooner rather than later.”

“And what is your urgent business?” Derek asked. 

“My contacts in the magic business informed me of a mage in the town.” James said and Derek tightened his fists.

“A mage?” He said, trying to sound surprised.

“Yes, although I’m sure you’re already aware of this, these are his wards after all.” James said, smirking slightly and indicating Stiles’ wards.

“Oh, yes, I’m aware of the mage.” Derek said, “I’m just not sure how that involves you.” 

“My contacts told me about the mage and I came here to see him.”

“Did you bring any of these contacts with you?” Danny asked and Derek glanced at him, glad that Danny had thought to ask that question.

“No.” James said firmly. 

‘I think he’s lying, can you tell?’ Danny’s voice popped into his head and Derek was eternally grateful for Stiles and telepathic communication.

‘His heart beat is steady.’ Peter said, ‘But that doesn’t mean he’s telling the truth.’

“Why do you want to see the mage?” Derek asked, glad that Stiles wasn’t drawing any attention to himself, Derek wasn’t sure they would be able to take on such a large pack and not suffer serious injuries, even with Stiles’ skills.

“I came to make him an offer.”

“Not to attack him?” Derek said in genuine surprise.

“No.” James smiled tightly, “Now, if you consent to access to your territory, I will seek out the mage, discuss my offer with him, and then leave.”

“And what is your offer?” Danny asked.

“That’s between my pack and the mage.” James said. 

‘What do you think?’ Derek asked Stiles who studied the opposite pack.

‘Danny, eyes.’ Stiles said in warning and Danny squeezed his eyes shut as Stiles let his spark fly free. Three people in the opposite pack winced before finally covering their eyes and crying out in pain.

“What are you doing?” James said, glancing at the three of them in surprise. “What is going on?” He said in fury. Stiles took a few steps forward putting the pack behind him and Derek at his side.

“I’m doing it.” Stiles said. “You see, only magic users can see my spark, odd that you said you had none with you and yet they can see it.”

“You? You’re the mage?” James spluttered in surprise.

“Yes.” Stiles said, “And I would recommend that you don’t lie to me again.” He said, indicating the other magic users who were now slowly recovering. “So, what is this offer you have for me?” 

“Stiles,” Scott whined worriedly as Stiles fingered the knife at his hip.

“Stiles,” James said in greeting, “An odd name for a mage.”

“Yeah, really not getting on my good side here buddy. What do you want?”

“We came with the intention to offer you a place in our pack.” James said and Stiles spluttered in shock.

“I’m sorry, what?” He said surprised.

“We want to offer you a place in our pack, we’re aware that as of yet you have not declared your allegiance to anyone and we want you to consider us.”

“What?” Stiles spluttered again, aware that he was sounding like an idiot but unable to process what James was saying, “I do have an allegiance, Beacon Hills is my home.” 

“Home can be anywhere, so long as you are with the right people. Stiles, should you be willing to join our pack, you will be appreciated and respected every moment of the day, you will be taken care of, protected with our lives, you can ask anything of us and we will do it.” James said.

“Only an Alpha can ask the pack to do anything.” Stiles said slowly.

“Or an Alpha’s mate.” James smiled and Derek growled, Stiles glanced across at him in confusion.

“What is that exactly?” He said, not sure what James was suggesting.

“If you were to join our pack you would be my mate.”

“Which entails, what exactly?” Stiles asked and Danny groaned.

“Sex Stiles. You’d be his boyfriend, or husband or whatever.” Danny said and Stiles looked at James in horror.

“Erm, no, nope, not happening.” 

“Well, you don’t have to be my mate, I’m sure we could find you someone else more suitable for you.” James insisted, “Or no mate at all if that’s what you would prefer, but we would do anything to have you Stiles, your talents would make us a force to be reckoned with.”

“No.” Scott said, “He’s not going with you. He’s ours.” James quirked an eyebrow at Scott.

“Yet, he doesn’t show any bindings to your pack, thus, he is unbonded and must at least consider offers.”

“That is an antique law.” Peter said.

“The last mage was hundreds of years ago.” James replied, “Therefore we must abide by the laws put in place then.” 

“So I have to consider your offer?” Stiles said, “Or what? What happens if I turn you down flat now?”

“Then we have the right to try and change your mind by force.” James said and Stiles glared at him

“I would strongly suggest that you don’t want to try that.” Stiles threatened.

“Which means you should consider our offer.” James said, “I assure you, should you choose to join our pack you will be treated with the highest respect.”

“We treat him with respect.” Isaac argued. 

“And when you say I have to consider your offer? How long do I have?” 

“An hour.” James replied.

“That’s hardly a proper amount of time to give this any consideration.” Stiles replied.

“Stiles, you can’t consider this.” Cora said, “You’re ours. You can’t leave with them.”

“Beacon Hills is my home. I’m not leaving.” Stiles said to James. 

“If you are insistent in staying then the Hale pack would have to leave.” James said.

“Stiles, you can’t do this.” Derek said, struggling to keep his voice calm, the idea of Stiles joining another pack making his wolf snarl in anger. Stiles turned to look at him, worry in his eyes and Derek felt his heart breaking. “Stiles, please.” He said, not caring if he sounded like he was begging, he couldn’t lose Stiles, it would drive him insane.

‘We could take them Stiles,’ Scott said, ‘You don’t have to think about it. Just say no. We’ll fight them off.’

‘Some of us will get hurt, maybe die.’ Stiles replied. ‘Even I’m not that good that I could stop them all.’

‘What about using the mist? Use that to hold them off until they retreat?’ Lydia asked.

‘I can try, but I’m not sure how it’ll hold against all of them.’

‘But you can’t join them.’ Danny shouted, ‘How would we manage without you?’

‘And if they kill you? What then?’ Stiles replied and there was silence for a moment.

“How do I bind myself to a pack?” Stiles asked and James smirked at Derek.

“It’s quite straightforward really.” He said, “You just have to pledge allegiance to the Alpha.”

“And there’s no way to reverse it?”

“No. Once you are bound to a pack, that’s it. You may be able to withdraw it under extreme circumstances, but I assure you, as part of my pack, you will be treated incredibly well. You won’t want to leave.”

“Okay.” Stiles said, pausing slightly, “So how do I pledge allegiance?”

“You want to do it now?” James said surprised and Stiles nodded.

“Stiles, please don’t.” Derek begged but Stiles just looked at him sadly.

“I’m sorry.” Stiles said and Derek felt like everything inside him was falling apart.

“It’s simple.” James said, “Take my hand, press it against your chest, over your heart, tilt you chin, baring your neck, and simply say, ‘I pledge my allegiance to you, my Alpha.’” Stiles nodded, looking incredibly serious before turning to Derek.

Derek watched stunned as Stiles stared at him for a moment before grabbing hold of Derek’s hand and pressed it against his heart before baring his neck.

“I pledge my allegiance to you, my Alpha.” Stiles said seriously and Derek stared at him stunned.

“I accept your allegiance Stiles.” Derek muttered, the words coming to him automatically and Derek felt as the pack bond formed strongly between them.

“You can’t do that!” James said stunned.

“I considered your offer Alpha Andrews, but, as you can see, I am already bonded with a pack and therefore cannot accept your offer.” 

“This is trickery.” James snarled.

“How is it trickery?” Stiles said, “I never said I wanted to be bound to your pack, only that I wanted to know how to do it.”

“You will pay for this treachery!” He threatened.

“You do not threaten my pack.” Derek growled, his eyes flashing red and Stiles smirked. “Now, Stiles is bound to my pack, that means he’s ours, he’s mine. So leave now, before we make you.” Stiles hoped no-one heard his heart skip slightly when Derek declared Stiles as his, god, he was so far gone on the guy it was pathetic.

Stiles felt more powerful than he had done before, his magic felt like it was ready to burst out of him, he was ready to protect his pack with everything he had, his fingers practically glowing with magic ready to throw at them, the strength of his pack ready to be used.

“My pack have come here with the intention of leaving with the mage, we will not be leaving without him.”

“Then you won’t be leaving at all.” Stiles threatened, allowing his spark to shine brightly, making sure that Danny covered his eyes and watching as the other three magic users crashed to the floor again a moment later covering their eyes and howling in pain. “You will not threaten me and you will not threaten my pack. You will leave or your pack will be the ones to suffer.” Stiles growled. 

Some of the other pack looked worried, especially with the three members still on the ground, they glanced to their Alpha, then at Stiles. 

“James,” One of them muttered, “Perhaps we should leave.” 

“Not without the mage.” James snarled. 

Brimmy chose that moment to jump out of his pocket, grow to the size of a lion and yawn, easily displaying his rows of sharp teeth.

“Is that a dragon?” One of the other pack muttered in shock while James just looked at Brimmy hungrily.

“You and your dragon will come with us.” James threatened. Brimmy looked at Stiles who was glaring murderously at the other Alpha. 

Brimmy moved quicker than Stiles had seen before, growing to the size of a house, snapping his jaws closed on James’ body and then gulping him down while his pack stared on in shock.

There was silence for several moments before one of the other pack members cleared their throat nervously.

“Alpha Hale, Stiles, we apologize for any inconvenience. We’ll leave now if that’s acceptable?”

“Yes it’s acceptable. Leave, and tell anyone else who asks that the mage is ours. If they come to take him, then they have to go through us.” Derek snarled and they watched as the other pack retreated. 

“That wasn’t nearly as dramatic as I thought it was going to be.” Jackson said and Stiles grinned.

“I really thought you were going to leave with them.” Scott said, hugging Stiles tightly. 

“I’d never leave you Scotty.” Stiles said, hugging him back just as tightly. ‘Is it okay?’ Stiles asked Derek and Derek jumped slightly.

‘Is what okay?’ He replied confused, watching as the rest of the pack took turns hugging Stiles.

‘Me, joining the pack?’

‘You’ve always been pack Stiles.’ 

‘Apart from that one time when you said I wasn’t.’ Stiles replied teasingly and Derek frowned slightly in worry but Stiles grinned at him and he smiled back.

‘Apart from that one time, yeah.’ He said, finally pulling Stiles into a hug, which seemed to surprise Stiles for a moment before he relaxed against Derek, probably hugging him for longer than he should have done but not really caring because Stiles felt amazing and smelled amazing and he was pack and he’d chosen Derek as his Alpha, admittedly the choices weren’t brilliant, but Stiles had chosen him, he appreciated that, he loved that, so he wasn’t going to break the hug just yet, especially when Stiles seemed to be holding him just as tightly. The rest of the pack eventually piled in around them which Derek was glad about, it probably made it a little less awkward for Stiles, but Derek was just so relieved that Stiles had stayed with them.

Things quietened down after that, it had been quiet for over two weeks and Stiles seemed to be a lot happier than he had been, spending time with every member of the pack, even Jackson, not just training with them, but coming to movie nights, cooking amazing food that made Derek’s stomach rumble as soon as he smelt it, generally just beginning to trust them, beginning to rely on them. He’d suggested to Derek that he make some amendments to his wards, show his allegiance to the Hale pack, Derek had been curious what Stiles meant by that, so they’d gone out to the wards together and Derek watched as Stiles carved a triskelion into the bark and removed his previous ward using magic. Derek had been shocked into silence, he’d never imagined that Stiles would be willing to do this for him, it took every ounce of control he had to not kiss Stiles just then, Stiles had made it very clear that he wasn’t interested in dating anyone just yet and Derek could understand that, he’d just have to bide his time. 

Stiles said that his wards felt stronger by using the triskelion and Derek felt the wards connecting as Stiles pushed out what he was feeling, felt the older, ever so slightly weaker, wards, and the newer, stronger ones. Derek was in awe of him. 

He assumed that the reason things had been so quiet was because it was harder to get through the wards now, he hoped that it kept the majority of creatures at bay. Stiles’ voice in his head had become such a normal thing now that he didn’t even register it half the time, he loved that he got to hear Stiles’ rambles in the middle of the night, it helped him drift into sleep. He loved that he got to hear what was going on at the school without having to ask, Stiles would just keep him updated along with the rest of the pack throughout the day, even if most of time it was just talking about what an evil dictator Harris was.

They’d all been out for a run Friday night and had come back to the loft, Derek loved that the whole place smelt like pack, like family, like home. Danny and Isaac hadn’t made it back yet, but Stiles assured them that they were fine, just making out in the preserve, Danny sending him some mental images that he really could have gone without seeing ever.

Jackson and Scott were arm wrestling on the table, Boyd and Erica looking on in amusement, Cora and Allison chatting about one of the classes they had together and Lydia mithering Peter about a spell she’d read in one of his books. Ethan and Aiden were completing some homework, with the occasional help from Stiles who was stirring something in a pan on the stove that smelt incredible and Derek was hovering nearby, hoping he’d get to try some before the others, Brimmy sat on the other side with a similar expression on his face.

“Oh, you idiot!” Stiles said suddenly and Derek almost jumped in shock as he moved towards the door. 

“What’s up?” Scott asked in concern.

“Nothing!” Stiles called, “I just left something in my jeep! One minute!” He shouted, already racing down the stairs.

“That was weird.” Cora said, before continuing her conversation with Allison.

Stiles raced down the stairs, seeing the police car pulling up at the front of the building and Parrish getting out. 

“Erm, hey Parrish.” He said in greeting as Parrish smiled at him before opening the back door and letting out a red faced Danny and Isaac. 

“I found these two in the preserve.” Parrish said and Stiles nodded, Danny had already told him that, along with the begging to please not tell anyone else and get his ass down the stairs and talk Parrish out of pressing charges using his ability as the Sheriff’s son. Stiles had rushed out of the loft, no doubt burning dinner for everyone just to save their asses. 

“Oh,” Stiles said, looking at Danny and Isaac who were both blushing brightly. “Well, it’s not all private property?” Stiles said and Isaac blushed brighter.

‘What’s going on?’ Jackson asked from upstairs and Stiles grimaced, so they were probably all listening in on this conversation, just brilliant, so much for secrecy, stupid super hearing. 

“Yeah, that’s kind of the problem actually.” Parrish sighed, “They were in public property.”

“Right?” Stiles said confused, Danny was blushing brightly now and Stiles was really confused.

“I happened to walk through the area when there was something going on that shouldn’t really be done in public places.” Parrish said, grimacing slightly as both Danny and Isaac blushed brilliant red and Stiles’ mind finally caught up with everything.

“Oh.” He said stunned before bursting into laughter. “You mean? You walked in on them?” He cackled. The way Isaac was wincing he guessed the wolves had all heard that too.

“Stiles…” Danny whined. 

“Sorry.” Stiles said, trying to stop the laughter but unable to hold it in, he was never going to let them live this down. “Oh my god.” He said wiping the tears of laughter from his eyes and trying to straighten up and look seriously at Parrish. “So, you want to charge them with indecent exposure?” He asked and Parrish nodded slowly.

“It could have been someone else that found them.” Parrish reasoned, “A group of younger children, or a mother and child, or anyone.”

“I get that.” Stiles said seriously, “But come on, they got caught and they sure as hell aren’t going to be stupid enough to do it again, can’t you let them off with a slap on the wrist?” He said, trying not to look at Danny and Isaac knowing he’d burst into laughter again. Parrish looked at them in concern.

“If your dad finds out I let them off with a warning…”

“He won’t.” Stiles replied, “We’ll just pretend none of this happened, if you catch them again then you totally have my blessing to lock them up and throw away the key. But, there’s no need to take them down to the station, they’re a couple of teenagers making out in the woods, I’m sure dad doesn’t want to deal with all that paperwork, I’m sure you don’t either.” Stiles said, trying to sound as innocent as possible.

“I don’t know…” Parrish said wavering slightly.

“Come on Parrish, you wouldn’t have brought them here if you were serious about charging them. Please?” He asked and Parrish sighed.

“Fine. But if I catch you again I will take you to the station.” He said and Danny and Isaac nodded quietly looking sorry for themselves. 

“Thanks man.” Stiles said, already planning how he was going to mercilessly tease them for this. Danny and Isaac were ahead of him, already heading for the doors when Parrish called out.

“Stiles, can I talk to you for a sec?” Parrish asked and Stiles glanced at Danny and Isaac before nodding. 

‘You want us to stick around?’ Danny asked, sounding incredibly guilty.

‘Nah, I’ll only be a sec, make sure you take my sauce off the stove otherwise it’s going to be ruined, if Derek hasn’t already eaten it.’ Stiles replied. “Yeah, sure.” He said to Parrish, moving back towards the police car, “What’s up?” 

Parrish glanced at Danny and Isaac who were disappearing through the doors before turning to Stiles.

“You don’t seem overly cut up about the fact I caught your boyfriend making out with another guy?” Parrish said and Stiles looked at him surprised.

“Oh, yeah, that, well we weren’t really going out, Danny was just trying to make Isaac jealous by pretending to date me.” Stiles replied in confusion. “And Danny’s really happy with Isaac and I’m happy for both of them.”

‘You’re an idiot.’ Danny said a moment later and Stiles was left feeling even more confused.

“So you still hang out together? Even after he used you like that?”

“He didn’t use me. He needed a favour and I helped him out.” Stiles said, “It’s not like I wanted to date Danny.”

“So you’re not cut up about it? Not secretly in love with the guy?” Parrish pressed.

“Erm, no? He’s just my friend.” Stiles said, he wasn’t really sure where this was going. 

“So you’re not seeing anyone?” Parrish asked and Stiles shook his head. “Which means you would be free to hang out with me sometime?” Parrish asked and Stiles suddenly understood, he kind of thought they were past this. 

“Oh!” He said in surprise, “Erm, that’s really nice of you and everything, but I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Stiles said, blushing brightly and hoping that the pack had stopped listening in. “I mean, you work for my dad. It could get a little awkward.” 

“That seems like kind of a weak excuse, one date, that’s all I’m asking, then after that, if you still aren’t interested I’ll drop it.” Parrish asked and Stiles rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, clearly uncomfortable.

“Stiles!” Lydia called from the doorway and Stiles had never been so relieved to see her in all of his life, “Tea’s ready and nobody knows what needs doing!”

“Okay.” He called back.

“They don’t know how to turn off an oven?” Parrish said sarcastically and Stiles grinned.

“Evidently not.” Stiles replied, turning towards the door and Lydia. Parrish grabbed his wrist slightly and Stiles tried not to flinch.

“Before you go, tomorrow night? 8pm? I’ll pick you up and we can go out for tea?” Parrish said and Stiles frowned.

“I’m really sorry Parrish, you’re a great guy, but I just don’t see you like that.” Stiles said, surprised that Parrish looked genuinely gutted. 

“Yeah, sure. No worries.” Parrish said, his hand slipping from Stiles’ wrist, “See you around Stiles.” Parrish said already heading back to the car as Stiles followed Lydia inside.

“You okay?” Lydia asked and Stiles nodded numbly, he felt really bad, Parrish looked really upset, maybe he should just go out with him, maybe he’d have a nice time, maybe it would mean he’d get over this idiotic crush on Derek that was going nowhere. “You know, I know that look, you can’t go out on a date with him just because you feel sorry for him.” Lydia said and Stiles looked up at her in surprise, he couldn’t believe that she could tell that just by looking at his face.

“Maybe I’ll have a nice time?” Stiles said although it was obvious he didn’t believe that. 

“You don’t fancy him Stiles, you can’t force that.” 

“I know.” Stiles said, sounding a bit defeated. “But I feel bad, he looked upset.”

“Of course he did. You’re a catch Stiles. Anyone would be lucky to have you.” Lydia said and Stiles blushed.

Stiles came back into the loft, probably a little in shock, considering how quiet he was, it put Derek on edge and he wondered what the hell was going on in Stiles’ mind right now, he couldn’t seriously be thinking about going out with that idiot just because he felt sorry for him? Stiles finished making tea, which genuinely was just turning off the oven and pouring the sauce over the roast and potatoes before shoving it into the middle of the table. They all piled into their seats, cramming their plates with food and laughing and joking about Danny and Isaac’s little adventure, Stiles slowly seeming to return to normal as the shock of Parrish’s suggestion wore off. 

Derek had had a hard time not going down there and tearing the guys throat out, especially when he touched Stiles. He hoped he never had to see the guy again because he probably would kill him.

They settled in to watch a movie, all of them squashed onto the seats and floor around the television, Stiles lying on the floor, his head resting on Scott’s back and evidently lost in his own thoughts more than the film. Derek hated that Stiles wasn’t next to him, but at least he was here, with them, with their pack. 

“Anyone want a drink?” Stiles said, getting up and heading towards the kitchen, grabbing a can of coke from the fridge and opening it quickly, taking a large gulp that exposed his throat and Derek cursed because why the hell did everything Stiles did have to be so freaking irresistible!? The things he’d do to him if he could, feel his soft skin under his lips, hear the whimpers of pleasure that he had caused. It was driving him insane.

Stiles spluttered, spat out a mouthful of coke and dropped his can, blushing brightly as he bent down to pick it up. Derek closed his eyes, because of course Stiles bending over really helped the situation Derek thought sarcastically, he could probably stare at Stiles’ ass all day and never get fed up of it. Stiles stood up so quickly he smacked his head into the table, the can of coke still on the floor and looking at Derek with wide eyes and a sort of mute horror while rubbing the back of his head with his hand.

“Dude,” Scott said, looking at Stiles along with the rest of the pack, “You okay?” Stiles just stared at Derek and Derek wondered why he was looking so shocked; he hadn’t heard what Derek had been thinking had he? He hadn’t said it out loud? The rest of the pack was slowly turning to look at Derek and Derek’s mind was racing, he felt the connection with Stiles, somehow knew that what he’d been thinking had got across to Stiles, that he’d seen it, that he knew.

“Oh my god.” Stiles muttered looking thunderstruck.

“Fuck.” Derek muttered, guess that secret was out, although he hadn’t expected Stiles to look quite so destroyed at the thought. “Alright, all of you, out.” Derek said and the pack looked at him in surprise but made no attempt to move. “Now!” Derek growled and they all jumped to their feet and raced out of the door. Derek moved towards Stiles who still hadn’t moved from his place against the counter, he took each step slowly, afraid of terrifying Stiles who right now looked like a rabbit in the headlights. “Stiles, I’m sorry.” Derek said slowly, holding his hands up at his sides, trying to look as non-threatening as possible, “I’m so sorry.” The only thing he could think was that Stiles had been shown the thoughts that Derek had been thinking about and that he’d gone into some sort of shock, made him think about George or Will and it was all Derek’s fault. “Stiles, please, I’m sorry.” Derek pleaded, getting closer to Stiles, his hands now either side of him, afraid that touching him would send him into a panic attack.

“What?” Stiles said, his voice cracking slightly, he licked his lips nervously and Derek fought the urge to track the movement, he hadn’t been so close to Stiles in what felt like forever and Derek was struggling to control his wolf. 

“I’m sorry.” Derek whispered, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to say that.” 

“Didn’t mean to say what? That you like my ass?” Stiles asked and Derek blushed. 

“Yes. That.” Derek said, hoping the rest of the wolves had decided it would be smart not to listen in. “It was an accident.” 

“So you didn’t mean it?” Stiles asked and Derek looked at him shocked.

“No. Of course I meant it. I just didn’t mean for you to hear it.” 

“Why?” Stiles asked and Derek didn’t know how to answer that, “I mean, why didn’t you want me to know?”

“Because, Stiles!” He said desperately, “Because, it’s bad enough that I’m crazy about you and you don’t feel the same way, I didn’t want you to know just how badly I want to be with you, I thought it would make things awkward.” Stiles stared at him with wide eyes, his mouth hanging open in shock and Derek didn’t know what to do, he didn’t want to move, didn’t want to startle Stiles, but he couldn’t stand here, so close to Stiles and not be able to touch him. 

“So this isn’t just that you fancy me?” Stiles asked, Derek couldn’t help but notice the tone of his voice, almost hopeful, “You actually want to be with me? Date me?” Stiles asked and Derek blushed, nodding quickly. “Not just sex?” Stiles asked, blushing slightly and Derek shook his head violently. 

“No, no, of course not Stiles.” Derek said, “I don’t care about that,” Stiles raised an eyebrow incredulously, “Okay, well, yeah I do.” Derek amended, “But with you, only with you, and not until you’re ready, if you’re ever ready, if you’d even want to, with me I mean.” 

“How can you even ask that?” Stiles said, “I mean, how can you not know how far gone I am on you?” It was Derek’s turn to gape at Stiles in shock, “You have to have known that, I mean, can’t you smell it, like all the time?”

“But, no, but, I would have known that.” Derek spluttered. 

“Obviously your nose isn’t as good as you think it is.” Stiles smiled and Derek grinned. 

“Obviously not.” Derek replied, touching Stiles’ hand slowly. Stiles glanced down at their touching hands, a wide smile on his lips and a blush on his cheeks. Derek moved his hand slowly up Stiles’ arm, unable to believe that Stiles was allowing him to do this, until finally he rested his palm against Stiles’ cheek, feeling the heat of his skin under his palm, Derek leaned in slightly, not wanting to rush this, but unable to believe that Stiles was willingly letting him do this. 

“It’s okay, I’m not going to break.” Stiles whispered, a shy smile on his lips and Derek grinned, leaning in even closer, until their lips were only an inch apart. Derek wasn’t going to kiss him, not if Stiles didn’t want this. Stiles leaned in, closing the distance between them and pressing their lips together. Derek felt like he’d been struck by lightning, the feeling took his breath away. Stiles pulled back a moment later, looking almost as surprised as Derek felt and a nervous smile on his lips. 

“Was that okay?” Stiles asked, “You didn’t mind me doing that?” 

“It was amazing.” Derek grinned, “I definitely didn’t mind doing that.” 

“Meaning you’d be happy to do it again some time?” Stiles smiled and Derek smirked, leaning back in and kissing Stiles again, their lips pressing against each other, Stiles opened his mouth slightly letting out a little moan as Derek licked at his lower lip before sliding his tongue into Stiles’ mouth. Stiles rested his hands on Derek’s hips, pulling him slightly closer and Derek grinned against Stiles’ mouth, a soft chuckle of laughter that made his wolf rumble in contentment, he broke the kiss, knowing that if he didn’t stop soon, he’d really struggle too. 

“I’ll do that as often as you like.” Derek said, leaning in to kiss him again, a short peck on the lips before pulling away.

“I can’t believe we could have been doing this for ages.” Stiles whined and Derek let out a laugh, pulling him into a fierce hug and holding him tightly. They were interrupted when the rest of the pack piled back through the door and collapsed onto the couches.

“Finally!” Jackson said as Lydia smacked his shoulder. 

“Ignore him!” Lydia said.

“So who wins then?” Scott said, “Because I’m pretty sure that counts as Derek actually telling him which means the Sheriff and Danny win.”

“Win?” Stiles said, “Win what?”

“You’re only saying that because you thought Stiles would figure it out in two weeks!” Peter complained, “I’m closest, I bet six weeks.” 

“Yeah, but Derek told him!” Scott argued.

“You guys took bets on this?” Derek said in confusion. 

“My dad knew about this?” Stiles said at the same time.

“Obviously.” Isaac said rolling his eyes, “I mean, come on, it was just trying to figure out if Stiles would work it out or when he’d work it out.”

“I’m not that oblivious!” Stiles said in his defence, before he glanced to Derek who smirked at him, “Okay, maybe slightly, but I would have totally figured it out. Eventually.” 

“Sure you would have done.” Cora said rolling her eyes sarcastically, but grinning at her brother, his happiness evident for them all to see. Derek moved over to the couch, pulling Stiles with him so that he was practically sat on his lap and he could almost feel the happiness pouring out of Stiles, he wondered vaguely how he could have not noticed that.

“If we’d waited for Stiles to figure it out Derek probably would have exploded and probably killed Parrish.” Ethan said.

“So not true.” Stiles said and Derek shrugged casually.

“A little true.” Derek said and Stiles burst into laughter. 

“Oh my god, you really like me!” Stiles said in surprise, thinking back over the past few months and seeing things in a completely new light, “Oh my god! I’m such an idiot! You weren’t flirting with me to make Isaac jealous!” Stiles said, glaring at Danny who was grinning widely at him, “And that” He turned to Derek “is why you were so pissy about Parrish and Karen and James and his pack and…” Stiles was cut off by Derek’s lips on his and he melted slightly. 

“Please don’t tell me we’re going to have to deal with this all the time?” Peter moaned and Derek broke the kiss to throw a pillow at Peter.

“Yes, you are. So suck it up buttercup.” Stiles said grinning, planting a quick kiss on Derek’s lips, unable to believe that they were doing this. That Derek liked him too. Stiles snuggled closer to Derek, closer into the cushions as Brimmy settled onto his lap, Derek reached around Stiles, pulling him slightly closer and scratching behind Brimmy’s ears in the process and making him hum happily. 

‘So we’re like boyfriends then?’ Stiles asked him telepathically as the rest of the pack settled back in to watch the rest of the film Derek snorted in amusement, placing a kiss on the top of Stiles’ head.

‘Yes we’re boyfriends Stiles.’ He said in good humour. 

“You guys are so cute.” Lydia cooed and Stiles stuck his tongue out at her childishly. 

They spent the rest of the night at the loft, watching action films that Stiles paid no attention to because all he could think about was Derek’s arm resting at his hip, the pad of his thumb rubbing gently on his skin, it was driving Stiles slowly insane and from the small smirk on Derek’s lips he knew exactly what he was doing.

He must have fallen asleep at some point because when he woke up he was sprawled across the couch his head resting on Derek’s stomach, his legs hanging over the end of the couch and the rest of the pack asleep on the floor and other chairs and couches. He moved slightly, snuggling slightly into Derek’s heat and Derek blinked awake slowly, a sleepy smile stretching his lips when he saw Stiles. 

“Hey.” He said sleepily, “You okay?” 

“Very.” Stiles said, moving slightly so that he could reach to kiss Derek, their lips pressing together easily, Stiles shifting again, almost climbing on top of Derek as they kissed, their whole bodies pressing against each other, Stiles moving his hips slightly and making Derek groan with pleasure.

“Stiles,” Derek whispered, aware of the pack sleeping next to them and the growing erection in his pants that he was sure Stiles could feel. Stiles smirked at him, obviously very aware of exactly what he was doing to Derek.

“Alright, fine.” Stiles pouted, breaking the kiss and snuggling back into his side.

“Go back to sleep.” Derek said, running his fingers through Stiles’ hair. “We’ve got forever to spend together.” He said and Stiles smiled happily as he drifted back to sleep.

Noah had taken the news surprisingly well, Derek figured that had something to do with the grin that Stiles couldn’t seem to stop no matter how hard he tried. He’d looked between the two of them for a moment, Derek holding tight to Stiles’ hand, not wanting to ever let go of him, before laughing slightly.

“About time.” Noah said and Stiles laughed happily as Danny handed over Noah’s winnings. “Guess this means that Derek told you then?” Noah asked and Stiles nodded.

“He let it slip technically.” Stiles replied and Noah raised a questioning eyebrow, “Telepathic communication dad, apparently Derek forgot…” Derek pressed a hand over Stiles’ mouth, he did not want Noah hearing what he’d been thinking about, although the blush on his cheeks probably still gave him away as Noah laughed loudly.

“Oh, that is just too good!” Noah laughed and Derek blushed brighter as he removed the hand from Stiles’ mouth. 

The next few weeks were the most peaceful Derek had ever felt, Stiles just completed him without even trying, they spent a lot of time talking, chatting about things that didn’t really matter, but just the fact that Stiles was telling him this stuff, it mattered to Derek. They also made out a lot, which Derek really enjoyed and he was pretty sure Stiles did too, but he wasn’t rushing into anything, whenever Stiles even suggested that they take things further Derek shut him down, he wasn’t rushing this, not only because Stiles was underage and the son of the Sheriff, but also because Derek didn’t want to pressure him when Stiles had had such bad experiences so far. He wanted their first time together to be special. 

That wasn’t to say that it wasn’t one of the hardest things Derek had ever had to do, having Stiles so close all the time and not claiming him properly made his wolf howl in frustration. It wanted everyone to know that Stiles was theirs, that he belonged with them. Derek wasn’t going to give into that. Not yet. He needed to know that Stiles was comfortable with everything first, that he wasn’t just rushing into this relationship as he did with everything else, and would then change his mind a few months down the line. Derek hadn’t explained to him about mates, so maybe that was his fault, but he didn’t want to pressure Stiles, didn’t want him to think that he was stuck with Derek for the rest of his life. If he claimed Stiles, as his wolf so desperately wanted him too, then if Stiles wanted out, wanted to leave, then it would probably kill Derek, at least if they weren’t properly mated he stood a chance of surviving when Stiles realized he could do better.

Stiles had contacted the whole of the pack mid-way through his third lesson, something had come through his wards, something big. 

‘Where abouts?’ Derek asked, ‘I’ll take Peter to go check it out.’

‘No.’ Stiles said, ‘Don’t go by yourself. Lunch is in twenty minutes, I’ll come with you.’

‘No way are just three of you going!’ Danny argued, ‘If it’s broken through your wards it’s got to be powerful Stiles. I’ll come too.’

‘You’re not going without me!’ Isaac said.

‘Pack outing!’ Erica chipped in chirpily and Stiles grinned at her across the classroom. ‘Who’s getting Brimmy?’ She asked and Stiles smiled again, Brimmy was probably already in the woods by the school, he didn’t like to be too far from Stiles at any time. 

‘I’ll grab him, then meet you at the car park?’ Stiles said and received a chorus of agreements in return. He spent the next fifteen minutes, when he was supposed to be concentrating on his classwork, trying to get a feel for the being that had passed through his wards, it had felt familiar in some way, something that he’d felt before, but it was off, not how he thought it should be. The bell rang and he was out of his seat and sprinting towards the woods to grab Brimmy only a moment later. 

Brimmy was lounging in the sunshine, scales shimmering in the light, talons glistening dangerously and eyes lit up in excitement the moment he saw Stiles. 

“Come on, we’ve got a problem.” Stiles said and Brimmy nuzzled against Stiles for a moment, before nearly knocking him over and Stiles felt the ground disappear beneath him as Brimmy raised them up into the air and took off in the direction of the disturbance, not that Stiles had any idea how Brimmy knew where that was, but he’d learned to not question these things. “Brimmy!” He called in shock as he manoeuvred slightly to stop himself falling off the dragon. “The others are waiting for us!” He shouted but Brimmy was paying no attention.

‘Stiles?’ Derek asked, ‘What’s taking so long?’

‘I’ll meet you there!’ Stiles replied, feeling the frustration from Derek, ‘Hey, don’t blame me! I’m not the one that decided flying would be quicker.’ He grumbled. 

‘We’re on our way.’ Derek said and Stiles got the distinct feeling that Derek was probably going to yell at him later. 

It only took Stiles and Brimmy a few minutes to get to the ward that had broken, he knew the rest of the pack wouldn’t be far behind, they landed and Stiles went quickly to the ward, pulling out the small bag of weapons that he left at each one, should they ever be needed, and quickly arming himself. There was nothing obvious, no signs of a disturbance, no creature blatantly stood in the clearing, and yet Stiles couldn’t shake the feeling that there was still something off.

‘What is it?’ Scott asked and Stiles paused.

‘I’m not sure.’ He said, the uncertainty in his voice seeming to make the pack more worried than they had been before. ‘I can’t see anything, but there’s definitely something here. Powerful noses would probably be handy right about now.’

‘Well, if you hadn’t raced off on your dragon, you’d have some.’ Danny said and Stiles rolled his eyes.

‘Like I had a choice!’ Stiles argued, ‘Brimmy just decided he was flying, once I figure out how to actually communicate with him properly I’ll tell him how bad that was, but since I haven’t figured that out yet, and he pretty much ignores whatever I say anyway, I’m not even going to deal with that right now.’ A stick cracked by a tree and Stiles narrowed his eyes, peering carefully at the area around it. Something shifted, he couldn’t quite place what it was, it was like there was nothing there, perhaps it had only been the wind, except then another stick cracked and this time it was closer to Stiles, he held onto the bat tightly, ‘Yep, definitely something here.’ He said, hoping the pack would be here soon. Suddenly Stiles saw dirt moving as giant invisible feet landed on the ground, coming straight for him, he dodged out of the way, rolling across the ground as whatever it was spun slightly and came straight for him again, Brimmy was growling at the invisible beast, but evidently couldn’t see it either as he made no movement. 

“Mother fucker!” Stiles cursed as the creature, whatever it was, charged him again and he only just managed to move out of the way in time, claws catching and ripping his shirt but thankfully missing his skin. He swung the bat solidly, feeling it connect but it did little to slow the beast down. He thrust magic in its direction but it didn’t seem to have any effect on whatever this beast was. 

“Stiles!” Derek called and Stiles glanced to him for a moment, regretting it a second later when the beast launched itself at him and he only avoided getting gutting by dropping to the ground. 

“What is it!?” Scott called in panic.

“Where is it!?” Jackson shouted more urgently. Stiles couldn’t concentrate with all the noise and he shouted them into silence telepathically. 

‘It smells awful.’ Cora said, holding her nose slightly, ‘Kind of like sulphur?’ The beast decided that it was time to attack again, this time going for Boyd, it knocked him to the ground, tearing a large gash in his back before Derek managed to pull it off. Erica rushed quickly to his side, checking he was okay. Aiden and Ethan formed their monster wolf but the beast knocked them apart easily, tearing huge claws into their stomachs. One by one it tore into the pack, not killing them, just putting them out of order for the time being. Danny, Lydia and Allison had moved backwards to the treeline, knowing they wouldn’t heal as they watched their partners get hurt before another pack member saved them. 

“Do something!” Lydia was screaming but no-one knew what to do, they couldn’t fight an invisible beast.

It turned on Derek next, tearing large claws into his chest. Stiles screamed out in denial, racing towards Derek, knowing that the beast was already turning on him by the way the claws stopped tearing into Derek. He pulled a knife from the waistband of his jeans, holding it tight in his hand as he raced straight at the beast. 

“Stiles!” Danny called out, “Wait!” He shouted in a panic, obviously able to see that there was no way Stiles was going to win this.

Derek was on the ground, the rest of the pack moving towards him, trying to protect him as best they could, their wounds already starting to heal, Stiles was relieved about that. It meant they stood a chance of making it out of here, even if his chances weren’t so great. 

The beast leaped forwards and Stiles slid down, like he was sliding into home base, spinning the knife so it was directed upwards and feeling it catch and tear into flesh. He kept sliding and the creature couldn’t stop it’s leap as Stiles effectively gutted it. 

A thick black blood spilt from the wound, covering Stiles in it as the creature dropped to the ground, still and unmoving, blood still staining the ground where it lay. Stiles was already on his feet, rushing towards Derek and the rest of the pack, taking in their healing injuries.

“Are you okay? Are you alright?” He was asking, checking them all over as Danny, Lydia and Allison rushed forward, Stiles moved next to Derek who was already starting to sit up and staring at Stiles in wonder.

“Are you alright?” They asked in unison before smiling at each other. 

“I’m fine.” Stiles said, “You’re the one who nearly had his heart clawed out of his chest.” He said kissing Derek quickly.

“I’m the one with wolf healing powers.” Derek muttered against Stiles’ lips.

“That means nothing.” Stiles retorted, “You can’t heal with your heart ripped out.” He said, kissing Derek again, terrified that he’d been about to lose him. “Don’t do that to me again, please.” He muttered, not caring that the rest of the pack could probably hear him, they were all whispering their own reassurances. 

“Only if you promise not to go flying off on your dragon without me again.” Derek muttered, wrapping his arms around Stiles’ waist and pulling him closer so that Stiles settled on his lap easily. 

“I told you, Brimmy has a mind of his own!” Stiles said lightly, kissing Derek again, examining the wounds to his chest and sighing in relief when they were already no more than shallow scratches.

“As sweet as all of this is,” Peter drawled, “Hadn’t you all be thinking about getting back to class?” Stiles looked at him in amusement before realizing he was deadly serious. They looked at each other, most of them would be able to get away with it pretty easily, grab a jumper out of their lockers to cover their ripped shirts, but Stiles’ clothes were covered in the thick black blood and it did smell kind of funky. 

“I’ve got some spare clothes in my gym locker.” He said when they glanced at him. “I’ll go with Brimmy and meet you guys in class.” He said, “We should probably meet at the loft tonight to try and figure out what the hell this thing was.” Already getting to his feet and waving his hand making the ground slowly swallow the body of the creature. 

Stiles turned quickly, kissing Derek for a moment before pulling away, knowing he needed to get back to school and changed before class started, he hopped onto Brimmy’s back easily and grinned at the rest of them as they soared up and away towards the school.

‘Have I ever mentioned how awesome that is?’ Derek asked and Stiles smiled.

‘Well, if you behave yourself I might take you for a ride sometime.” He replied, hoping that Brimmy would actually agree to that, it wasn’t like they’d actually done this that many times before. 

They landed in the woods by the school a few minutes later and Stiles ran quickly towards the school, taking the long way around to avoid bumping into anyone. He got to the locker room with five minutes to spare before the bell rang, checked there was no-one around before stripping off his jeans and t-shirt. He pulled the clean clothes from his locker, shoving the dirty ones into a bag that he knew he was going to have to dump at some point, and started getting dressed. He’d just finished buttoning his jeans up when he heard a quiet bump and he glanced suspiciously around the room. He couldn’t see anyone so he grabbed his t-shirt, pulled it over his head and grabbed his bag before running back to class.

He made it just as the bell rung and slid into his seat next to Scott, an easy grin on his face.

“Cutting it close there.” Scott muttered and Stiles shrugged, he still made it, it was fine.


	12. Chapter 12

Lydia was sat in her first class of the afternoon when she got a text, she glanced quickly at her phone and then nearly dropped it in shock. One of the girls in a different class had sent out a mass text to a large majority of their class, it was Stiles, he was in the locker room, fastening his jeans up and completely shirtless. Lydia was glad the lighting was bad, it meant you could only see the scar at his hip and his tattoos, not the other smaller, finer scars that she had seen on occasion. He was glancing up, as if he’d just heard something but not sure what, a second picture followed a moment later of Stiles pulling his t-shirt over his head, Lydia wasn’t going to deny that the guy looked good.

“Who knew he was so ripped?” One girl replied.

“I wouldn’t mind having a go on that.” Another replied.

“Please send me more!” A third said.

“It looks like a strip tease done the wrong way.” A guy commented, “I’d love to see it going the right way though!” He added and Lydia blushed on Stiles’ behalf.

“Does anyone know if he’s single?” The first girl asked.

“He said he had a boyfriend when I asked him,” A second guy replied, “But, I’ve never seen the guy, so maybe he’s just making it up.”

“Miss Martin!” The teacher said and Lydia’s head snapped up to the classroom. “If you can’t pay attention I will take your phone.”

“Sorry.” Lydia muttered, sliding her phone back into her bag. As the class wore on more people seemed to be looking at their phones, showing pictures to their friends and Lydia had no doubt in her mind that it was Stiles. She couldn’t believe someone would invade his privacy like this, it was time to bring in the big guns.

‘Is it just me or is everyone looking at me funny?’ Stiles asked Scott as they left their lesson. Scott shrugged, he hadn’t noticed anything unusual, other than a larger amount of phones going off in class than usual. He decided it would be smart to pay more attention, and he couldn’t help but admit Stiles was right, a lot of people were looking at him, eyeing him almost hungrily, like the first day of school and Scott wondered what the hell was going on.

“Derek,” Lydia said in greeting, “How are you feeling?” 

“Fine Lydia.” Derek said, he was worried why the hell Lydia was calling him and not just using the telepathic communication like usual, he hoped Stiles was okay, “Is everything alright?”

“Not really.” She said and Derek waited for her to continue, “I got a picture sent to me this afternoon, someone got a picture of Stiles getting changed and needless to say it’s all over the school.” 

“What do you mean? He was getting changed?”

“I’m sending you the pictures now.” Lydia said and Derek felt his phone buzz, “He’s just shirtless.” Lydia said, “Although that’s evidently enough for some people to send it around. The point is, lots of people are talking about the fact that Stiles is hot, which we all already knew, and that he’s probably single since even though he says he’s got a boyfriend they’ve never actually seen him.”

“What?” Derek said, unable to believe people’s stupidity. He was glancing at the pictures and could completely understand why people would be talking about it, Stiles was more than a little bit gorgeous.

“So, what I’m saying,” Lydia continued as if Derek hadn’t spoken, “is that you should maybe come meet Stiles after school, set a few people straight, mark your territory as it were.” Derek paused, trying to contain his anger that someone had done this to Stiles.

“Does he know?” Derek growled.

“No. Not yet.” Lydia replied, “But he’s sure to notice soon enough, I mean he’s oblivious but he’s not a complete idiot, not with the way I’ve already seen three people hitting on him.” She said, “He’s bound to figure it out soon.” 

“What about the person who took the pictures?” Derek said, trying to rein in his anger.

“Oh, don’t worry about that, Allison, Cora and Erica are going to come with me and have a little chat with her about the invasion of people’s privacy.”

“Can you get people to delete them?” 

“I’m going to get Danny on it now, but Stiles will probably find out.”

“I don’t care. I want them deleted.” Derek growled. “And I’ll be there.” He added before hanging up the phone and already thinking of tearing people apart who dared to hit on Stiles just because they hadn’t met Derek, that was ridiculous! His wolf was howling, how dare anyone think that Stiles didn’t belong with them? They would see, Derek would show them.

‘Okay, something seriously weird is going on.’ Stiles said to them all an hour later, ‘Have you guys heard anything? Like why the hell pretty much the entire school seems to be staring at me?’

‘Haven’t you had it yet?’ Jackson asked and Stiles glanced across the classroom at him in confusion. Jackson held up his phone and a moment later Stiles’ phone vibrated with a message from him. Stiles clicked it open and felt like he was about to pass out. That was him, without his shirt on, where everyone could see his scars. ‘Dude, breathe, you look fine.’

‘What’s going on?’ Lydia asked.

‘I sent Stiles the picture, he’s freaking out.’ Jackson replied.

‘Why the hell did you do that!?’ Lydia screeched.

‘Guy had a right to know Lyds, everyone in class is being weird as fuck, he would have figured it out.’

‘Stiles, just breathe.’ Danny said, ‘It’s not that bad.’

‘Not that bad?’ Stiles said incredulously, ‘You can see the scars, people are going to want to know how I got them, people are going to question it, what if they think it was dad? What if they arrest him? How do I explain what happened?’

‘Breathe.’ Danny instructed, ‘You can see one scar Stiles, one. You can always say that’s where those drug dealers stabbed you, nobody needs to know the truth. It’s fine. I’m already working on a way to remove all copies of it, don’t worry.’ 

‘Did you guys all know about this?’ 

‘Only when Jackson sent me the picture a minute ago.’ Scott said honestly. 

‘Stiles, just relax, nobody is even questioning the scar,’ Lydia said honestly, ‘They’re all too busy talking about how hot you are and stuff.’ She said and Stiles felt a little sick.

‘I don’t think that helped Lydia.’ Jackson said, looking at Stiles with worry, ‘He looks like he’s about to puke.’ 

Thankfully he only had to manage ten more minutes before school let out for the day. He hung back, hoping that most people would have left by the time he’d got his stuff from the locker, knowing that the pack were all waiting outside so they could head to the loft together.

He managed to make it about ten foot out of the main door before three girls stepped up to talk to him, identical smiles on their faces, Stiles managed to brush them off easily enough, but as soon as he turned around there was another guy stood there, chatting away to him about the class they shared, Stiles was about ninety nice per cent sure they didn’t share any class together. He really didn’t like this, there were way too many people close to him, he could feel the beginnings of a panic attack starting. 

“Stiles!” A voice called out and Stiles nearly fell over in relief, Derek was striding towards him, a look of worry in his eyes, Stiles took a second to breathe, to take in the sheer gorgeousness that was Derek Hale, those beautiful green eyes, eyebrows that had a language all of their own, lips that felt incredible against his, okay, and now he had to stop, because otherwise he’d get a boner in public which was something he hadn’t done for years and was not about to start doing again now.

“Hey!” Stiles said in genuine surprise, his voice cracking slightly because he was still a bit emotional. Derek didn’t slow his stride, just marched up to Stiles, cupped his cheek with his hand and started to kiss Stiles, evidently oblivious to the guy who was still trying to have a conversation with Stiles. Stiles reacted instantly, Derek’s mouth fitting his perfectly, his stubble scratching Stiles’ skin just slightly, but in a way that made him feel amazing. Derek’s other hand went to his back, pulling him closer, lining their bodies together, it didn’t do anything to help the boner that Stiles was trying very hard not to get. 

Derek bit slightly at his lower lip and Stiles moaned, opening his mouth and letting Derek sweep his tongue inside, deepening their kiss so that Stiles was pretty sure they’d get charged with some kind of public indecency if anyone decided to report this, yet he didn’t pull away. Instead he just kept kissing Derek, knowing that this was the most amazing feeling he’d ever had and unbelievably that included when he flew with Brimmy. Eventually it was Derek that broke the kiss, pulling away and grinning widely at Stiles.

“So, how was your day?” Derek asked and Stiles nearly stumbled with the casualness of it, anyone who had still been hanging around, which apparently had been half the school, were staring at them with mouths hanging open in shock, the guy next to them staring at both of them in surprise, Derek didn’t seem to notice.

“My day was fine thanks.” Stiles replied in shock. “What brought you here?” 

“I missed you.” Derek replied shrugging, “I figured I’d surprise you.”

“Well, you did that.” Stiles grinned. 

“Good.” Derek replied, leaning in to kiss Stiles again, Stiles was pretty sure Derek was trying to kill him from the sheer pleasure of it. He gripped Stiles’ hand tightly and turned towards the car park, glaring at the guy who actually put his hand out to stop Stiles, his eyes may have flashed red for a moment because the guy jumped back in shock and Derek could hear Stiles’ soft laughter behind him.

“Have I told you recently just how much I love you?” Stiles said as they got towards the jeep and the rest of the pack, Derek stilled in his tracks because, no, Stiles hadn’t said that, he’d never said that he loved Derek. He turned to look at Stiles who looked a little shocked as well, as if unable to believe he’d just said that. Derek moved forwards again, pulling Stiles into another kiss, this time a bruising kiss, one that took Stiles a little by surprise with the heat and passion of it. Derek had his hands on his hips and Stiles jumped up slightly surprising Derek by wrapping his legs around Derek’s waist. Derek growled a warning against Stiles’ lips and Stiles chuckled slightly ignoring it and deepening their kiss. 

Derek groaned again, pushing Stiles against the bonnet of the jeep and feeling Stiles hum appreciatively against his lips. 

“As much as I’m loving the show,” Erica said, “Perhaps you should wait until you get home.” 

Stiles and Derek pulled apart quickly, suddenly remembering that not only were they with the pack, but that half the school was still watching them. Stiles blushed brightly and Derek grinned, it had to be pretty obvious to everyone now that Stiles and Derek were together. 

“You look proud of yourself.” Stiles said and Derek grinned. “Any particular reason?”

“You love me.” Derek replied happily and Stiles blushed. 

“Don’t go getting a big head about it.” Stiles said sheepishly. 

“I love you too, you know that right?” Derek said and Stiles looked to him surprised.

“You do?”

“Of course I do you idiot.” Derek said, kissing him again and Stiles grinned happily. 

“Well, you could have told me earlier.” Stiles replied.

“I love you.” Derek said again, “I love you. I love you.” He repeated, separating each repetition with a kiss. “I love you.” Stiles was blushing brightly and Derek thought it was probably the most adorable thing he’d ever seen.

“I love you too.” Stiles said. 

“You guys are revolting.” Cora said, climbing into Stiles’ jeep. “I love it.” She added to Derek grinning, it was so good to see her brother happy.

They headed back to the loft, Stiles, Danny, Lydia and Allison all piping up with ideas as to what the creature had been earlier in the day. 

“What about hellhounds?” Lydia said as they strolled into the loft. 

“Hellhounds?” Peter asked in exasperation.

“Well, why not?” Lydia said, Stiles had however, frozen in the doorway, his mind racing as he figured it out and what it could mean.

‘Stiles?’ Derek asked, seeing the look of horror on Stiles’ face. 

“It wasn’t a hellhound, it was a hound from hell.” Stiles said.

“And the difference is what exactly?” Jackson asked.

“A hellhound is basically a human that’s died and been brought back to protect the supernatural world from discovery, they cover up deaths, move bodies that kind of stuff. Making sure that our world is protected.”

“And a hound from hell?” Allison asked.

“It’s a beast on a leash.” Stiles said, “It follows its master orders, but it doesn’t care if it kills innocents in the process, if you let it off its leash it won’t care, it’ll do whatever it wants.” 

“Really?” Isaac said sounding impressed.

“Definitely.” Stiles said steadily, glancing up at Derek. “What we need to figure out is if this is a one-time thing or the start of something more serious? If someone is sending hounds of hell to Beacon Hills.” 

“We can worry about that later.” Derek said, taking hold of Stiles’ hand. “Right now, I think we have bigger things to talk about.” 

“What, like the fact you love me?” Stiles grinned and Derek laughed.

“Yes. Like that.” 

“Oh, god. I’m going home.” Scott whined. “I am so not listening to you talk like this all night.” 

“I don’t plan on doing much talking.” Stiles grinned at Derek.

“I am definitely not sticking around for that.” Scott said, already heading towards the door and dragging Allison by the hand. 

“I don’t mind sticking around.” Erica grinned and Boyd sighed heavily as one-by-one the pack left the loft. As soon as they were gone Stiles pulled Derek towards the couch and pushed him into one of the seats before climbing onto his lap and nibbling at his ear.

“Stiles,” Derek whined, he wasn’t strong enough to resist this, but he couldn’t do this, not without telling Stiles everything. “Just stop, wait a minute.” Stiles stopped, pulled back and looked at him with concern.

“Do you not want to?” Stiles said in worry and confusion and Derek growled.

“Of course I do. I just, I need to talk to you first, I need you to listen.”

“Okay.” Stiles said, sitting still and studying Derek seriously.

“I don’t know how to say it.” Derek said and Stiles waited patiently. “You know when the other pack came, when James said that you could be the Alpha’s mate?” Stiles nodded, “You couldn’t have been his, because you’re mine.”

“Okay?” Stiles said, evidently still confused.

“Well, a mate, for a werewolf, it’s an actual thing, one particular person in the whole world that smells incredible to us.” Stiles still looked oddly blank at him and Derek figured he wasn’t explaining it properly. “A mate, to wolves, is like a soulmate.” Stiles’ eyes widened slightly but he didn’t say anything, Derek was glad about that, he thought he’d struggle to start again if he stopped. “Your mine Stiles, my mate, and we can’t do anything else, not yet, because right now, if you realize what a mistake your making then I might survive it, but if we carry on, if you become my mate and then want out, I don’t know I’d be strong enough to let you go.” Stiles sat staring at him in silence for a few minutes.

“How long have you known that I was your mate?” Stiles said sounding serious and Derek was confused as to how this related to anything he’d just said.

“The first time I saw you, but I didn’t want to admit it at first, I’d been sure Kate was my mate and then she murdered my family, taunted me about how she’d used some chemical mixture to trick me, and I didn’t want to believe you, to trust you, and then just when I was starting to believe that it might be true…”

“Scott decided to work with Gerard.” Stiles finished and Derek looked at him guiltily.

“I’m sorry. I should have trusted you.” Derek muttered.

“You should have.” Stiles said, “But I don’t blame you, you are a little bit messed up. But then I’m more than a little messed up. Probably why we’re soulmates.” Stiles grinned.

“That’s not something to joke about.” Derek said and Stiles laughed.

“Yes it is. Do you think that we’d have met if everything hadn’t gone to shit in our lives? I mean, if your family had still been around, if Peter had still been sane, that Scott would have been bitten? That I would have got messed up in all this? That I would have met you? Fallen in love with you almost immediately?”

“Maybe.” 

“But maybe not.” Stiles argued, “I just mean, everything we’ve been through, it’s lead us to each other, and god, do I wish that some of that stuff hadn’t happened, but it did, and we dealt with it and we survived it and we found each other.”

“But humans don’t feel the way wolves feel, about mates, it’s not the same for you as it is for me.” 

“I don’t care.” Stiles said, “I might not be a wolf but I am a mage which means that I’m in this for life. And I might not be able to smell you and think, hmm, soulmate. But I am able to look at you, to talk to you, to spend time with you and be completely and utterly in love with you. I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and I know your brain is probably already thinking about how you’re ruining my life, that I have my whole life ahead of me and being with you would effect that, but listen to me, listen to me very carefully.” Stiles stared at him, his eyes wide, open and honest, “I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want you Derek. I want to be with you. I’m happy with you and I love you and I don’t expect this to be plain sailing, I imagine there’s going to be times when we argue and fall out and yell and scream at each other. But I love you. And that is never going to change. So you are stuck with me, no matter what, and if you don’t want me then tough, too late, you’ve got me and I’m not leaving you. Not ever.”

“You say that Stiles, but your still only sixteen.”

“Seventeen next week.” 

“Okay, nearly seventeen. Still a child Stiles. You don’t know what you want. You might have changed your mind next week.”

“No.” Stiles said firmly, gripping Derek’s chin to stop him from looking away, “I am not going to change my mind Derek and I will do whatever it takes to prove that to you.” 

“Stiles,” Derek whined again, effectively cut off when Stiles kissed him.

“I love you Derek. I love you and nothing is going to change that, we are together. Got it?” 

“Got it.” Derek said when Stiles kissed him again. 

“Now, are we going to make out or am I going to have to spend more time telling you how awesome you are and how much I love you?” 

“Making out sounds good.” Derek muttered against Stiles’ lips. “Although we should probably go up to my room, Cora whined for days the last time we made out on the couch.” 

“Aren’t you like super protective of your room though?” Stiles already pulling them up off the couch and towards the stairs.

“What?” Derek said confused.

“Well, last time I stayed there you got all growly about me being in your room?” Stiles said and Derek blushed. “Oh!” Stiles said surprised, “Nothing to do with your room, more to do with me being there?”

“Yes.” Derek growled, picking Stiles up, letting him wrap his legs around Derek’s waist and then carrying them up the stairs, groaning slightly when Stiles kissed his neck gently. 

“So you liked me being in there?” Stiles muttered and Derek groaned. “I’m going to take that as a yes.” Stiles said, “You really liked me being in there?” He asked as he kissed his neck again and Derek groaned in pleasure as they made their way into the bedroom. 

“I really liked you being in here.” Derek said, closing the door behind them and moving Stiles towards the bed, “In fact, I was really struggling not to come up here, lock the door and keep you in here until I felt like letting you leave.”

“I probably shouldn’t tell you that that really turns me on.” Stiles grinned and Derek growled, lowering them to the bed.

“No you really shouldn’t.” Derek replied, feeling like his wolf was about to lose control if he didn’t claim Stiles now, he lay Stiles down on the bed, settling between his legs, lowering himself gently over Stiles, kissing him gently, slowly, sliding his hand under his shirt. Stiles pulled him closer, wrapping his legs around Derek’s thighs and pulling them together, his hands tangled in Derek’s hair as they kissed. 

Derek worked his way from Stiles’ mouth to his neck, sucking marks into his skin and growling slightly when Stiles moaned with pleasure at the feeling. He wanted to take things slowly but he also wanted Stiles writhing and naked underneath him, he pulled on Stiles’ shirt, tearing it ever so slightly as he made his way to mark fresh skin. 

Stiles arched his hips up slightly as Derek sucked another mark into his collarbone and Derek felt his eyes flash red for a moment at the contact, Stiles let out a little gasp of pleasure and Derek smiled.

“I kind of like when you go all Alpha like that.” Stiles said and Derek felt his eyes flash again at Stiles’ words. He was really struggling for control here. Stiles’ fingers trailed the bottom of Derek’s shirt, slowly reaching to pull it up and over his head, then leaning up and planting kisses to Derek’s neck, his chest, Derek was going to lose it in a moment he was sure. He pulled Stiles shirt up over his head, studying Stiles for a moment, looking at the beautiful pale skin underneath him. Stiles tried to cover himself slightly but Derek pinned his hands by his sides.

“Don’t.” He growled, “You’re beautiful. Let me look at you.”

“I’ve got scars.” Stiles muttered but Derek silenced him with a kiss. 

“I don’t care Stiles,” He replied, leaning down to kiss a scar and stunning Stiles into silence, “You’re alive. That’s what matters to me, and these,” He said, kissing another scar, working his way lower, “make you even more beautiful, look what you did for me, for us. You saved us.” He let go of Stiles’ wrists, hoping that he hadn’t scared him, judging by the look on Stiles’ face he had done nothing of the sort, instead Stiles was looking at him with a sort of awe, like that had been the last thing he’d expected Derek to say. “I didn’t frighten you, did I?” He asked, worried about causing Stiles to think about previous experiences.

“No.” Stiles said, “Don’t worry Derek, I can tell the difference between someone who loves me and someone who doesn’t.” 

“You’d tell me? If you were uncomfortable?” Derek said worried.

“Of course I would Derek, but you’re not going to. You care too much about me to risk hurting me.”

Derek leaned back up and kissed Stiles again, loving the way he gasped in pleasure against Derek’s mouth, the way Stiles squirmed below him, seemingly trying to get as much contact with Derek’s body as possible. Stiles using his nimble fingers to undo Derek’s jeans and Derek grabbing his hands and pulling them away, pinning them to his sides again and staring at Stiles. 

“We shouldn’t.” Derek said and Stiles groaned.

“Not this again Derek!” He said seriously, “I love you. Why not? Give me one good reason why we can’t do this right now?”

“Because, Stiles, this isn’t a one-time thing. We do this, this is it, for me, you’re it for me.”

“You’re already it for me.” Stiles confessed. “I love you Derek. You’re the only one for me, for eternity.” 

Derek kissed him again, slower this time, gentler, soft and sweet that made Stiles feel so loved that it heart stuttered slightly. 

“I love you.” Derek said letting go of his wrists again and Stiles grinned. 

“I’m going to tell you I kind of like that too.” Stiles grinned and Derek growled, his eyes flashing red momentarily. “And definitely that as well!” Stiles laughed that turned into a groan of pleasure when Derek sucked at his neck again, his fingers trailing across Stiles’ body, lingering on his tattoos, before trailing down to the waistband of his jeans. “Please Derek.” Stiles pleaded and Derek undid his jeans, sliding them over his hips and pulling them off before standing up and pulling his own jeans off and climbing back onto the bed with the now almost naked Stiles. 

They kissed again, their mouths travelling over each other’s bodies, Derek spending plenty of time tracing Stiles’ tattoos with his tongue which he’d been fantasizing about doing since the first moment he’d seen them. Slowly he took Stiles’ boxers off and Stiles took Derek’s off, they were both panting slightly by now, Derek finding it harder and harder to keep his wolf under control and stop his eyes from flashing red at every moment, especially when Stiles told him repeatedly that he didn’t mind, that he liked it, that he loved the fact that he was the person driving Derek so close to the edge of losing control. 

Stiles was letting out quiet gasps of pleasure but Derek wanted more, he wanted to hear Stiles cry out his name, hear him call for Derek as he came. He kissed him harder, faster, more passionately, his stubble grazing Stiles’ skin leaving it red in places, their cocks rubbing together as they ground against each other.

“God, Derek.” Stiles moaned and Derek manoeuvred himself so that he could touch Stiles’ hard cock, run his hand gently up and down his cock and hearing Stiles moan with pleasure, “Please, god, Derek, please.” 

“Tell me what you want Stiles.” Derek said, wanting to make sure that Stiles really wanted this.

“I want you Derek, I want you please.” Stiles begged and Derek’s eyes flashed red again, Stiles was going to drive him insane. “Please, please.” Stiles begged, writhing under Derek, trying to move so that he could feel Derek’s cock rubbing against his own. 

“Stiles.” Derek moaned, their bodies both glistening with sweat now, Derek didn’t know how much longer he could hold out, his fingers wet with their pre-come as he moved them gently towards Stiles ass. He massaged his hole slowly, watching with a smile on his lips as Stiles’ eyes fluttered with pleasure. He inched one finger inside Stiles slowly, Stiles gasping in pleasure, his body arching up and clenching around Derek’s finger. 

“Derek, please, Derek.” Stiles begged and Derek slid another finger inside, slowly stretching Stiles open. 

“We’re taking this slowly Stiles.” Derek said, “I want to make sure I don’t hurt you.” 

“You won’t. Please, Derek, please, I need you. Please.” Stiles whimpered. Derek took a few more minutes to stretch Stiles out, loving the way Stiles was almost muttering nonsense by now, he couldn’t wait to see how Stiles would come undone when they came. 

“Are you sure?” Derek asked when he felt that Stiles was ready for him.

“I’m sure Derek, please.” He begged. Derek removed his fingers and slowly inched his cock into Stiles’ tight hole. “God!” Stiles groaned, Derek couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, Stiles was so tight, so hot, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to last long. He finally pushed all the way in, bottoming out, and had to take a minute just to adjust to Stiles’ hole, he knew Stiles needed a moment to adjust to Derek.

“Move, please, Derek, move.” Stiles begged and Derek moved slowly at first, Stiles gasping in pleasure and encouraging Derek to move, to please carry on, to please make crazy love to him before he exploded. Derek grinned, kissing Stiles repeatedly, so close to losing his sanity at how incredible this felt, moving faster as he lost himself in the moment, unable to believe he was lucky enough to experience this.

“God, Stiles,” He moaned, his mouth brushing over Stiles’ neck, “Stiles, please, please.” Derek groaned.

“Please Derek, God, please, cum for me.” Stiles whispered and that was enough to send Derek over the edge, his cock twitching as he started to cum, unable to stop himself from biting into the junction of Stiles neck, breaking the skin slightly. “Derek!” Stiles called out, his body arching off the bed, his ass tightening around Derek’s cock and sending Derek completely over the edge. Stiles called Derek’s name again as he started to cum, biting down on Derek’s neck, breaking the skin just slightly, but unable to stop himself as his orgasm overwhelmed him. 

Derek came down from his high a moment later, looking at Stiles with such wonder in his eyes that it made Stiles almost glow with pleasure. They kissed again, long and slow and drawn out, Stiles smiling happily at him.

“I love you.” Derek muttered.

“I love you too.” Stiles replied, sighing happily as Derek moved slightly. 

“I didn’t hurt you?”

“You didn’t hurt me Derek.” Stiles said, “In fact, I’d be willing to do that again, anytime you want.” Stiles said, not willing to let go of Derek anytime soon.

“Would you now?” Derek said smirking happily, trailing fingers down Stiles’ body. “Well, I can arrange that.” Stiles grinned before noticing the bite at Derek’s neck.

“You’re not healing!” He said worriedly. 

“What?” Derek said in confusion.

“You’re not healing. I bit you and you’re not healing.”

“Neither are you.” Derek said, looking at the shallow bite at Stiles’ neck. 

“Yeah, but I’m not a werewolf, this should have healed by now.” He said, tracing the bite with his fingers and watching as Derek shivered with pleasure and felt his cock twitch inside him. Stiles moaned slightly at the feeling and Derek grinned with pride. He would make Stiles moan like that as often as he possibly could. “You’re distracting me.” Stiles said and Derek grinned again, moving ever so slightly and making Stiles groan again. “Stop it.” Stiles said, smacking Derek’s shoulder and Derek laughed loudly, “I’m serious. Is it weird that this hasn’t healed yet?”

“Why did you bite me?” Derek asked.

“You bit me first.” Stiles said and Derek laughed again, moving slightly, wanting to hear Stiles groan like that again and succeeding. 

“I’m a werewolf.” Derek said as an explanation.

“Oh my god, I’m not going to turn am I?” 

“No, different kind of bite.” Derek grinned and Stiles looked at him, eyes narrowing.

“What kind of bite?”

“A mating bite.” Derek replied simply, “A claiming bite.” He said, blushing slightly.

“So it’s like a bite to show everyone that we belong to each other?” 

“Well, considering you bit me too, then yeah, I’d say that pretty much sums it up.” Derek said nervously, not sure how Stiles was going to take this. 

“Good.” Stiles said and Derek looked to him in confusion, “I’m glad, I mean, if people somehow think I’m hot, then you’re like out of this world, which means that it’s just as important that people know you belong with me just as much as people know I belong with you.” Derek laughed lightly, moving inside Stiles again and making Stiles groan in pleasure. 

“I think we could find more interesting things to do than talk about how hot you are.” Derek said and Stiles laughed, his muscles clenching and it was Derek’s turn to groan at the feeling. 

They spent the next few hours in bed, neither of them even considering moving, both too wrapped up in each other to think about anything else. 

‘We’ll be back in ten minutes.’ Danny’s voice said and Stiles groaned, ‘You can either get your clothes on or not but we’ll still coming.’

“Guess that means we need to get our asses out of this bed.” Stiles said, going to sit up before Derek pulled him back down, an arm slung across his chest.

“No.” Derek growled. “You’re staying here.”

“And I will stay here, but that doesn’t mean stay here in this bed.”

“But I don’t want you to get dressed.” Derek whined and Stiles grinned. 

“Come on big guy, we can’t stay in bed forever, I have school tomorrow for a start.” 

“Urgh!” Derek groaned, “Nope, not happening, you’re staying here with me.” 

“As much as I kind of love your possessive side, you’re going to have to get a grip.” Stiles said jokingly, throwing back the covers, “I’m yours, you are mine, everyone knows it, there’s nothing else to it.” 

“I love you.” Derek sad, loving how the words rolled off his tongue. 

“I love you too.” Stiles grinned, kissing Derek slowly.

“Get your asses down here!” Allison called and Stiles groaned miserably as they broke apart.

“You’re their Alpha, can’t you just order them away for a while?”

“You’re the Alpha’s mate, you order them away.” Derek grinned, getting up and pulling his jeans on, knowing that Stiles would do no such thing.

“I don’t think I’m ever going to get over hearing you say that.”

“What? That you’re my mate?” 

“Yep.” Stiles said kissing him quickly. “I like that.” 

“Good. I like saying it too.” 

They came down the stairs eventually, the pack all turning to look at them and Stiles grinning sheepishly at them. 

“Erm, hi?” He said in confusion, unsure as to why they were all staring at him. 

“The mark.” Derek said, pushing him towards the kitchen, “It’s instinct, they know you’re my mate, that makes you like a second Alpha to them.” 

“So weird.” Stiles said, pulling out a few packets of soup and starting to cook them. 

“You mated?” Peter said, looking at Stiles with shock. 

“Oh god, that sounds so creepy when you say it.” Stiles muttered, Derek laughed, hopping up onto one of the counters near Stiles while the rest of the pack headed towards the kitchen. 

“I’m just surprised.” Peter said, “But happy for you. Both.” He said and Derek smiled at him. 

“So, hounds of hell.” Stiles said, “We should start researching about who can control them.” 

“We should also start talking about what we’re doing for your birthday.” Scott said and Stiles smiled. 

“Probably bottom of the list of my priorities right now.”

“What’s at the top?” Isaac asked. 

“Figuring out how to tell my dad I sort of married a werewolf without telling him.” Stiles said casually as Lydia spat out her drink and looked at him like he was insane. Derek however hummed happily, nuzzling his nose into Stiles’ neck and Stiles blushed slightly at the contact making Derek grin. 

“Excuse me?” Lydia hissed, “You sort of married a werewolf and you didn’t invite us?”

“Well,” Stiles grinned, “I mean, you could have watched if you wanted, but I didn’t think it would interest you.” 

“What do you mean watch?” Allison said.

“Mates.” Peter supplied, “There’s a mating bite, a claim to each other as it were, usually during sex. For a werewolf it means that that person is their mate for the rest of their lives.” 

“Oh!” Lydia said surprised while Scott looked a bit grossed out. “Okay, well, still, this means we need to have like an engagement party or something right?” 

“We’re not actually married.” Derek said. “Not in the eyes of human laws anyway.”

“When have I ever listened to human laws?” Stiles replied and Derek grinned. 

“So you’re not married yet? But you’re kind of married?” Erica said, “So that means we can have like some kind of celebration party right?” 

“Right.” Lydia said, “And why not combine it with Stiles’ birthday?”

“Still got to explain all this to my dad.” Stiles muttered, but Derek could tell he wasn’t overly worried about it. “And let’s not forget about the hounds of hell and the fact there could be another one on its way already.”

“We’ll deal with it when and if it gets here. In the meantime I think Lydia is right.” Derek supplied, “I think a party sounds good.” 

The next week seemed to pass in a blur of activity, Lydia was in full blown party mode, apparently oblivious to the fact that Stiles was actually kind of worried about the possible hounds that might be coming for them. His dad had taken it well, but then his dad didn’t seem to care about anything so long as Stiles was happy, he could have told him he was having little werewolf puppies and so long as Stiles was happy Noah would have congratulated him. Although Stiles wasn’t going to admit that he’d heard his dad talking to Derek one night, giving him a lecture about making sure he treated Stiles right and if Derek ever hurt him or let him down like he had done previously then Noah would make sure he suffered for it. Derek had nodded very seriously, looking more solemn than Stiles had ever seen him. Stiles decided then was a good time to interrupt, chattering away about his birthday and lightening the mood. 

They’d carried on sparring after school, Danny actually managing to land a few solid hits before Stiles put him on his ass. It was more important than ever to make sure they could all fight to the best of their ability, which meant he couldn’t go easy on them, not if they were going to have to go up against hounds any time soon.

Derek took him out shopping on the Saturday morning while Lydia decorated the house, Stiles thought they were probably all over doing it slightly but he wasn’t going to complain when it meant he got to spend time with Derek. 

They called in at Mina’s, Stiles topping up her plants while she observed Derek with a critical eye. 

“I’m not sure I trust werewolves.” She said and Stiles snorted.

“You don’t trust anyone.” He replied good naturedly.

“Not true.” Mina said, “I trust you.” Stiles blushed slightly before explaining about the party and that she was more than welcome to come if she wanted. Mina hugged him tightly and told him she’d be there later.

They wandered further into town, Stiles was sure they were getting a few odd looks, but he didn’t really care, he was so happy he felt like if he wasn’t holding onto Derek’s hand he would just float away.

“Hey,” Derek said pulling him to a stop, “Let’s go in here.” He said indicating the shop behind him.

“That’s a jewellers.” Stiles stated.

“Glad the education system taught you how to read.” Derek replied sarcastically and Stiles snorted with laughter as they entered the small shop.

“You do know we’re not actually getting married right? Dad said not until I’m twenty-one.” 

“I know.” Derek said as he headed towards the counter, smiling at the cashier. “You have an order for me? Derek Hale.” 

“Oh, Mr Hale. Yes, just hold on one moment.” The cashier replied, disappearing into the back room.

“What have you ordered?” Stiles asked in curiosity as the cashier reappeared with a small bag in her hand. 

“You’ll see later.” Derek replied, loving the look of annoyance on Stiles face, it was so cute when he didn’t know everything. 

“Derek,” Stiles whined as soon as they were out of the shop, “Come on, tell me, please?” 

“Later.” Derek grinned, holding the bag tight in his hand and hoping he’d picked the right thing. 

The party was pretty amazing Stiles decided a few hours later. Lydia had gone all out, as had the rest of the pack, there were lots of people from school hovering around the garden and taking the opportunity to chat with Stiles as often as possible. Stiles thanked them all for coming and thanked Lydia for planning it, he imagined it wouldn’t be nearly as good if he’d organized it. 

Derek was pretty nervous by the time most of the guests had left, he worried that Stiles might not like this, that it was the wrong thing to get him, even though Noah, Danny, Scott and Lydia had all assured him it would be perfect. Stiles wandered back over to him, smiling at him with such love that Derek wondered how he’d ever got so lucky. 

“Why are you looking so terrified?” Stiles joked, “You’ve managed your human interaction for the day, you can relax now.” Derek let out a laugh that sounded hollow even to him and Stiles noticed it immediately. “Okay,” He said, his tone serious, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Derek lied and Stiles narrowed his eyes.

“I’m not a werewolf but even I heard that lie.” Stiles studied him for a moment, “Seriously Derek, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” 

“I’m fine.” Derek said, glancing at the pack that was gathered across the other side of the garden. “Can you come for a walk with me?” He asked and Stiles nodded immediately the concern still evident in his eyes.

They walked into the woods for a few minutes until he knew the rest of the pack were out of earshot. 

“I want to tell you that the past few weeks, well, they’ve been the best weeks of my life.” Derek said.

“I feel like there’s a but coming here.” Stiles said, looking oddly upset.

“You’d be right about that.” Derek said, a small smile on his lips, “But, this, between us, it’s not as good as I want it to be.” He said nervously. Stiles was staring at him with wide eyes and Derek was stunned into silence when he realized tears were rapidly forming in Stiles’ eyes.

“Come on, carry on.” Stiles said bitterly, “Just finish it already.”

“Okay,” Derek said, feeling really unsure now, why did Stiles look so upset?

“Okay?” Stiles shouted suddenly, “Okay!? That’s how you want this to end? Just okay?”

“What are you on about?” Derek said completely lost now as Stiles burst into tears. “Stiles!” Derek said, rushing forward to hug him and hold him tight, “Stiles, what’s going on? Why are you crying?” 

“Why are you dumping me?” Stiles sobbed, “I don’t understand. I thought you were happy.”

“What are you on about!?” Derek said in outrage, “I’m not dumping you!”

“But you just said things aren’t as good as you want them to be!?” Stiles demanded, swiping angrily at the tears running down his cheeks and Derek burst into laughter. “And now you’re laughing at me!” Stiles said, “Why are you laughing? This isn’t funny!” 

“It’s hilarious Stiles.” Derek said, almost doubling over with laughter and finding it hard to breathe.

“What!?” Stiles said angrily.

“I’m trying to give you this.” Derek said holding out the box in his hand and Stiles was stunned into silence, staring at Derek and then the box before finally moving forward and opening the box. “It’s a promise ring.” Derek muttered, “It’s not a wedding ring, it’s not me asking you to marry me, I’ll wait until you’re twenty-one for that, to keep your dad happy, but I don’t want just werewolves to know that you’re my mate, I want everyone to know it. And I thought you could wear it, if you wanted to?” 

Stiles hit him in the shoulder. 

“You are such an idiot!” He said, grabbing the box from Derek and grinning at him.

“You’re the one who thought I was going to dump you!” Derek laughed as Stiles pulled out the ring to look at it. It was a simple white gold band but Derek had asked them to inscribe the inside with the message;

“My mate, I love you for eternity.” Stiles read, looking to be on the verge of tears again. 

“You don’t have to, if you don’t want to.” Derek whispered, worried that he’d upset Stiles. 

“Of course I do.” Stiles said, slipping the ring onto his finger, “I’m just surprised and I didn’t get you anything!”

“Actually,” Derek said, holding up a second box, “I thought, if you wanted me to, I’d wear one as well?” Stiles rushed forward, hugging him tightly and Derek grinned brightly, “I’m guessing that’s a yes?”

“Yes, you idiot.” Stiles said, already pulling out Derek’s ring to look at it. “You didn’t get this one inscribed?” Derek shook his head, he hadn’t wanted to put words into Stiles’ mouth. Stiles held the ring tight in his hand, his eyes closed in concentration before finally opening them a moment later and studying the ring. “I can’t believe that worked!” Stiles shouted and Derek could see the sign of writing inside the ring, wanting desperately to know what it said. 

“You guys still alive?” Ethan shouted and Derek growled, his pack had the worst timing in the world.

“Yes we’re still alive.” Stiles called back. “Give us a minute!” He said handing Derek the ring and smiling at him happily. “We’re in this together right?”

“Always.” Derek replied.

“Forever.” Stiles grinned, letting Derek finally see the words Stiles had cast into the ring. 

‘My sourwolf, I love you for eternity.’ Derek read, an easy grin on his lips, he could almost hear Stiles saying it. They kissed slowly, gently, a promise of all the things that would come in the future. 

“Come on then, let’s get back to the party.” Stiles said eventually, dragging Derek by the hand, the ring on his finger pressing against Derek’s skin, Stiles’ bright smile grinning back at him. No matter what happened, or what came for them in the future, he had Stiles and his pack and they were together. Right now there were no imminent threats, no dangers lurking just around the corner, right now they were safe and happy. When that safety came to an end, no matter how near or far in the future, they would still have each other, they would protect their pack and each other and they would survive, happily ever after.


End file.
